After The War
by ScribeOfTheLegends
Summary: The dragons have gone. Hiccup can accept that now. But what he wasn't prepared for was just how much the dragon's departure would change the world. Goodbye's must be said. New lives must be built. Battles must be fought. And their new enemy, a foe who has broken every boundary and proved to truly be different than all other adversaries, must be defeated. Post-THW. Hiccstrid.
1. Chapter 1: New Berk

After The War Ch1

* * *

The beautiful bittersweet vision of the dragons flying away over the sparkling ocean still haunted his mind.

It would stay with him, he knew, for as long as he lived.

It would stay with Berk for longer than he lived.

His children would hear the stories of the dragons. His grandchildren. His great-grandchildren.

They would understand why he had to let them go. For their freedom, their lives.

He had long preached that dragons had a mind of their own, and were great, legendary creatures who shouldn't ever be enslaved or chained. He himself had prevented this numerous times.

Yet in a sense he had chained his own. Even unknowingly he had trapped his dragon to the ground. Only with a human could he be released. Unable to fly without a human-made prosthetic, his dragon was bound with an irreversible mistake.

Of course, his dragon didn't mind it. He loved his human, who fed him every day and kept him company. Who flew him whenever he had time and loved him back.

Who knew this would come from a dragon like him, cunning and clever enough to have bombed Berk hundreds of times and never be caught?

Except for one time.

When a young boy his age, with a similar soul, shot him down over a decade ago. Longing for acceptance in his own village, he had set out with a carefully made machine, designed to bring down man's greatest enemy.

The single bola that caught the Night Fury would change the lives of the entire archipelago, when the first dragon and human bonded. They created a mutual, loving relationship. Then thousands of bonds were created, though none as close as the very first.

But how long would they last?

* * *

Hiccup sat on the edge of his lumpy gray cot. Quiet tears trickled down his face as he stared at the dry dirt floor of his tent.

Astrid and Valka had taken him there, after they gently tugged him away from the cliff. He had been standing on his one sore leg for over an hour, with exhaustion threatening to take him over. They had taken his arms and led him to his tent, where he, numb with fleeting emotions, let them take care of his village.

Now he sat on the edge of the bed, filled with the worst kind of remorse, shock, and sadness.

His head buzzed with mixed emotions. Why had he let them go? Why was he doubting his decision? Could the dragons get back safely?

What would happen now?

He thought of impossible, never ending questions until he succumbed to tiredness, collapsed on his bed, and slept.

Hiccup slept for hours. His dreams were filled with dragons, the Berk he grew up on and New Berk's villagers, pummeling him with questions and accusations. He whirled in and out of nonsense dreams, with flight suits, tail prosthetics, and giant crossbows.

When he finally woke up, weary and red- eyed, it was early in the morning. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and tried to stretch.

He hissed when he moved his stump onto the bed, as there was a fierce burning sensation on it. He carefully peeled off part of his stump guard, a leather boot with fur, made by Astrid so his stump wouldn't irritate.

His leg was scarlet and deep welts appeared from pressing into his prosthetic. This always happened to him after intense fighting or training. He touched the red skin and instantly recoiled when his leg seemed to scream in agony.

He gripped the edges of his bed and tried not to make a sound. He was panting with pain when Astrid quietly opened his tent flap.

She stepped inside and her eyes went wide. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup nodded wryly. "I know." She hurried over to him and knelt beside his leg. Examining it, she looked up and asked," How much does it hurt?"

Hiccup groaned. "A lot."

She nodded nervously and told him," I'll go get something from Gothi, hang in there." She ran outside, and Hiccup noticed that her face was tinged pink.

He felt slightly guilty for not thinking of how sad Astrid must be. They had only spoken in hurried sentences, but he could still tell. Her relationship with Stormfly was close to Toothless's and his. She had gotten up early every morning so she could have some alone time with her. Trained non-stop with her, and spent all her time polishing her saddle for her.

He moved his leg again and his vision went cloudy for a second. He groaned again and leaned back against his bedstead, resting his head on his tent pole.

Astrid came in with a small jar of blue liquid. "Gothi told me that you should put this on your leg."

Hiccup nodded. He reached for the jar, and Astrid gave it to him. He gently dabbed on the cool medicine while Astrid heated up a bucket of warm water on coals nearby and sat next to him.

"Are— you alright?" She scanned his face for signs of discomfort.

Hiccup turned his head to look at her, and softly replied," I'm fine."

They sat there, waiting for the water to boil, and Hiccup felt a growing tension between the two. Desperate to break it, he leaned over and kissed Astrid on the cheek. She responded with a small smile, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

The water eventually boiled, foaming and threatening to spill over. Astrid dipped a clean rag into it, and when it was comfortable, she gently wrapped his sore leg with it.

"Is that better?" She asked anxiously.

Hiccup smiled. The throbbing sensation had gone away, and he only felt the slightest discomfort against the warmth. "Yes, thank you."

Astrid bit her lip. "You sure?"

This time, he knew she was asking about more than his leg. His heart seemed to sink and his voice caught. "I..." He choked. "No, no I'm not."

He leaned his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. His eyes began to water again, as he tried to control himself. He tried to push away the horrible sensations in him, but when he looked up again and got lost in Astrid's clear blue eyes, he lost control.

He sobbed like a child, mourning the loss of his best friend. Astrid sat quietly next to him, rubbing his shoulder. Neither realized that Astrid's eyes were watering.

He lifted his head and looked at Astrid, raising a hand to dry her tears. He rested a hand on her shoulder, and seeing her face break again, tugged her closer.

They sat together for longer than they cared to know, silently mourning.

* * *

When the lunch bell rang, Astrid lifted her head with a start. Her tired voice asked," Who's ringing the bell?"

Hiccup raised his head and questioned," Was someone supposed to?"

Astrid nodded. "I asked some who could handle it to take care of necessities. Hoark asked to do food, but-"

He finished her sentence for her. "It's too early for lunch, and—

She nodded. "We left all three bells on Berk. I'm going to go ask what's going on." She gestured to his leg. "Do you think you can do it? Or would you want me to go?"

He took off the towel. His leg was a natural color, albeit slightly swollen. He nodded, and Astrid jumped up and took his spare leg from his bag. Wrapping his stump guard back over his leg, she tugged his leg on and tied it securely into place.

She held out a hand and pulled him up. With a small gesture of her head, she led the way out of his tent.

The sunlight blinded him momentarily, and when he blinked it off, he saw Hoark, an old villager, ringing the large rusted lunch bell. Hoark stood in the middle of the grassy main clearing around some large pots with a few villagers milling around him with wooden plates.

Astrid stepped forward. "Hoark, where did you get the bell?"

Hoark looked apologetic. "Apologies, ma'am." He replied in his deep, Scottish accent. "Couldn't find the mornin bell, had to make do with this. Found it on the grass next to ya tent, Hiccup."

Hiccup frowned. "That's alright. But the breakfast bell..."He trailed off.

Hiccup remembered that they had left the bells on Berk, deeming them too cumbersome to bring to the Hidden World. Of course, they hadn't gone to the Hidden World to live at all. He finished his sentence. "We left them in Berk, didn't we?"

Astrid nodded, but her face still held confusion. "I thought we left all three bells on Berk."

Hiccup walked over to Hoark. "May I?" He held out his hand. Hoark gave him the bell. Hiccup turned it over in his hand, trying to remember what the old lunch bell looked and felt like.

On the inside of the bell he found the unmistakable Berk crest. He handed it to Astrid, who had walked up behind him.

His mind went into chief mode. Over the past year, he had gotten very good at making difficult decisions and handling difficult people. Namely, Snotlout and the twins.

"We'll just use this for now. Shouldn't be any harm, although I'm fairly certain they were left on Berk. He shrugged. "Hoark, can you get the villagers their food?"

Hoark nodded and took the bell from Astrid. He covered his ear and began to ring the bell loudly.

Wincing from the noisy clanging, he and Astrid stepped away from the clearing. They sat down next to a tree.

Hiccup asked," Do you think the bell was just accidentally brought along?" In his mind, this seemed like the only possible way, however unlikely.

Astrid shrugged. "I mean, it is the only way it could have gotten here. But we can't worry about that. What are we going to do now?"

Hiccup realized how much he had dreaded this question, letting out a deep sigh. "I'm really not sure."

Astrid placed a hand on his knee. "Well, how about right now, we try to keep the village running as well as possible? Without... them."

Hiccup nodded briskly, trying not to remember how they had left. "Sounds good. We can..." His mind sprung into action, thinking of all the possible things they could do.

Astrid rested her head on his shoulder. For a moment they just sat there, thinking.  
After a few minutes, Hiccup's mind turned on a lightbulb.

"What if we went back to Berk?"

Astrid bolted straight up. "What?" She asked incredulously. "Go back to Berk?!"

Hiccup said,"But it makes sense! All our stuff is there! We wouldn't have to rebuild, or do any work! It's all there!" He gestured wildly with his hands, becoming more animated and excited by the second.

Astrid looked at him with a face of quiet dread. "Valka didn't tell you, did she?" Hiccup noticed the look on her face and stopped moving. "What do you mean?"

Astrid opened her mouth, then closed it. She faltered for a second before gently saying,"Valka and I went on a patrol, a day after we moved here. We went to Berk first, to see how it was. When we got there..."

Hiccup stared at her with an increasing sense of dread. "What?" He whispered, sure he already knew the answer.

Astrid swallowed and continued. "Grimmel had burned it all down." She said in a quick breath.

Hiccup's mouth fell open and stayed that way. Berk was gone. Burned down. All of it.

His childhood home. Where he was born. Where he grew up. Where he found Toothless...

He let out a shuddering breath. "Okay. Okay. Umm. That's... fine. I can deal with that."

He continued on. "We can- well our only option is to stay here. We can't go anywhere else so..."

Astrid watched him. "We'll stay here and live here. It's no big deal. We can build. We have all our villagers."

Hiccup nodded. "Yes. We can do that." Astrid sighed. She rarely saw Hiccup like this, slightly disorganized. He was always the confident leader. "Hey, it's okay to be sad."

Hiccup didn't reply.

* * *

When the line for food died down, Hiccup and Astrid waited their own turn and accepted steaming bowls of hot soup. The soup smelled appetizing, with hints of salt and tomatoes.

They sat down next to the table of dragon riders, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Valka, Eret, and the twins. Gobber had been put in charge of the water supply by Astrid.

Everyone was quiet, each hating the silence yet not wanting to break it. The only sounds were the clinking of spoons and splash of soup.

Even Tuffnut and Ruffnut were subdued, poking at their soup and occasionally sharing sorrow glances. Hiccup noticed that Snotlout and Fishlegs had taken off their helmets, and everyone wore no armor, just regular clothes.

Hiccup knew someone would have to break the silence. This group was his main council, he had to talk with them about what to do before he could make any momentous decisions.

He drained the last few drops from his bowl. After wiping his mouth, he tried to think of a way to start.

"So." They all looked up. "Astrid and I were talking about how we need to get the village back on track. We could start by rebuilding, and—"

Snotlout grunted. "Why are we worrying about that? I thought this place was temporary, we can just go back to Berk!"

Hiccup and Astrid shared a glance. He didn't think that they would bring this up so quickly. Astrid's eyes met Valka's.

Valka sat down next to them. "I'm sorry, Astrid. I thought it would be best to tell them after this all was over."

Astrid nodded. "It's okay, I understand. Should I tell them, or—"

Tuffnut interrupted her. "Tell us what? Something crazy like Berk burned down?" He chuckled with Ruffnut.

Astrid drew in a breath and Tuffnut instantly stopped laughing. He looked shocked.

"Are you saying it did?" Tuffnut stared at her. So did everyone else, besides Hiccup and Valka, who nervously looked at the ground.

Astrid nodded hesitantly. Looks of pure shock flitted over everyone's faces. Eret dropped his mug, and Fishlegs's spoon fell from his hand.

Hiccup, wanting to take the attention away from the skittish-looking Astrid, intervened. "We've discussed that, and yes, it would have been amazing to go back. But we can't go all the way back with every villager, and we'd have to rebuild there."

Eret picked up his mug. "So, mate, you're saying we'll have to rebuild here?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. It's really our only option."

Valka sighed. "I guess you're right. I'll miss it, though."

Hiccup remembered how Valka, out of all of them here, must miss Berk the most. She had grown up there, married there, and had a son.

Everyone else had only grown up there, and Eret had only spent about a year. No one had created a family, or gotten married...

His thoughts drifted to Astrid, and how insistent Tuffnut had been during the past few weeks about marriage. Although Hiccup and Astrid were already betrothed, Astrid had made it clear she wanted to wait a while before marrying each other.

He shook his mind out of the clouds. "Well, we would need to get started on building efforts. Maybe today, we can just start exploring the remote sides of this island? We've really only stayed in this area."

Fishlegs nodded. "We should get to know our area better before settling down here."

Astrid started thinking. "Maybe we can send a few teams out. We're on the east side, so we would need teams for west, north, and south."

Snotlout put his hand up. "Dibs on north!"

Everyone looked at him questioningly, until he shrugged and said," I saw a hot spring over there."

Hiccup groaned. "Snotlout, this is a exploration mission! We don't have time to relax in a hot spring! Do you remember what happened that last time you guys did that?"

Everyone grimaced at the memory of the strange island, where soaking in a hot spring had eventually led to most of them and their dragons eventually passing out, and a creepy man and an erratic boy had revealed themselves to be part dragon. They certainly didn't want to go through that again.

Snotlout replied," Ok, fine. But I still really wanna go north!"

Astrid asked him with a grin on her face," Well, what about that time when I had to save you from the Wingmaidens and you forgot which way was north?"

Hiccup laughed. "Hey, you didn't tell me about that!"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "Shut up, Astrid." He mumbled.

Hiccup chuckled. "Well, you can go north. How many others do you think should go?"

They carried on brainstorming until they came to a conclusion. Four riders would be on each team. They had to ask the auxiliary team to join, or else there wouldn't be enough. For north, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Bucket and Mulch. For south, Astrid, Gothi, and the twins. For west, Gustav, Hiccup, Valka, and Eret. Gobbler was asked to take care of the village while they were gone, and to take care of it better than the last time.

They would depart the day after, leaving after breakfast and coming back in time for dinner. At dinner, they would talk over the results.

After the meeting, Hiccup and Astrid ran around, deciding that Hiccup would take care of one half, and Astrid the other. Hiccup raced around and helped with all sorts of things. He had to help birth a baby cow, calm down some Vikings who were saddened by the loss, and most of all had to encourage his village to get up and moving.

He stood on a crate and gave out orders. Some replied eagerly, although most grumpily moved with snail speed.

"Come on, Hargr! There's no need for a face like that!" He called out to a surly villager. "You should have a face that's ready to chop some more wood! Yeah, that came out wrong."

Hargr slung his axe over his shoulder and tromped away with a grumpy look on his face.

A hand tapped his arm, and he looked down to see Astrid. He smiled and hopped off the crate.

Astrid smiled back. "I just finished all my duties. Are you done yet?"

Hiccup looked over the crowd, and found that it had significantly decreased. The only people left were already heading off to their jobs. He looked back toward Astrid. "Yup, I think I'm done."

Astrid beamed. "Do you want to take a walk?" Hiccup nodded, and they walked out of the village. They bypassed the last few trees and bushes, and emerged onto a sandy beach stretching out onto a beautiful clear ocean.

Hand in hand, they walked along the shoreline in peaceful silence, listening to the cheerful chirping of birds.

Hiccup enjoyed gazing at the calm ocean, although he felt that there was something familiar about it. They walked for a while before coming into a canyon, with a pool of deep water in the middle.

Hiccup sucked in a breath. This was wee Toothless had tried to impress the Light Fury.

Astrid had turned to face him. "What is it?"

Hiccup nodded toward the beach. "That's where he saw the Light Fury."

Astrid spun around and stared at the sand where he had gestured. The sand was still slightly messed up from Toothless's drawing.

He silently led her over to the drawing, their shoes sinking in the soft surface. They stood around the Light Fury's face.

Hiccup looked at Astrid, expecting her to ask when this had happened, or how he knew what had happened here. Instead he eyes were full of soft sympathy.

They sat down on the sand. Not wanting to cry, Hiccup pulled Astrid closer. She leaned on him and rested her head on his chest.

"It's okay to be sad. We all are." She said carefully. "You don't have to carry this inside yourself. We're going to understand."

Hiccup sighed and kissed her on the head. "Thank you."

* * *

The next day, Hiccup woke up as the sun rose, determined to get a start on preparing for the journey. He spent an hour readying everyone's saddlebags with extra food, camping supplies, and emergency flares. When he got to his own, he realized that they had no need for saddlebags.

He rested his head on his hands. He would have to redo them all to be put into hand held bags. He also realized the emergency dragon nip he always packed and the extra cod wouldn't be necessary. He soberly replaced them with blankets and matches. The thought that with dragons, they could've mapped the whole island in an hour also crossed his mind.

By mid-morning, everyone was awake. Gobber was left with strict instructions not to destruct a ship and consult someone before naming a baby girl Magnus.

Each team would take note of resources, animals, and landscape along their routes. If possible, they would circle the boundaries of their direction and then head inside the area.

Hiccup noticed that the twins and Snotlout were being far more agreeable then they usually were. He assumed it was either lack of enthusiasm, or they seemed more annoying with their dragons.

Fishlegs struggled with keeping from blurting out random facts about dragons. Having been a dragon nerd all his life, and suddenly having to conceal it, proved difficult and many times he slapped his hand over his mouth.

He strapped on his bag and made sure all other teams were ready. When everyone was situated, he led his team into the west grassland. When they were knee-deep into the dry grass, he turned and saw the other teams disappearing into their areas. The south team trekked into the thick woods, and the northern team hiked over the open field.

He turned back and followed Gustav, Eret, and Valka to the edge of the plain. When they had walked a few minutes, the grass suddenly shot up. Gustav, being the shortest, was dwarfed by the tall stalks. Hiccup, Valka, and Eret could barely see past a few feet in front of them.

Eret shouted," Oy, Chief! I don't think it's a good idea to go any further into this. We could very well get lost."

Hiccup yelled back," I agree. Come back here for a second, we'll regroup and decide what to do."

Eret and Gustav trudged back to Valka and Hiccup. "Well." Gustav stated. "You know that old rhyme? About the cave?"

They looked at him blankly. He looked at each face. "Come on! You've gotta have heard it! If ya can't go through, over, or under, you've gotta go around! Following long so far?"

Hiccup could only nod before he rambled on. "So, we've gotta go around this! See, we can map the outsides and see how large it is. It's not going to go on forever."

Hiccup considered the merit of this idea. They really had no other choice. "Okay, Gustav. We can use your plan. Who's got the blank map?"

They carried on around the grass in this manner until they had rounded the corner. When the grassland stopped, they came across a landscape of gray cliffs and rocks. Each tall spike of stone stood frighteningly high, much taller than any of them.

Hiccup and Eret walked up to one. They tapped on it, and when it seemed sound, Hiccup chipped off a part from the spike. He would have Gobber test it. It could be of some use.

In this case, they could go through it. Carefully stepping over loose fragments of rock, they threaded their way through the land. When they finally came to the end of the stone, they arrived upon a rocky beach stretching out onto the ocean. Hiccup wondered if this beach led to the canyon where he and Astrid had visited yesterday.

Valka tapped him on the shoulder. "I think this is as far west as we can go, dear. The others are taking those areas." She pointed to the north side.

"Okay." He called out to the other two. "How about we rest here and take some notes, then we head back?"

Eret and Gustav nodded. Eret strode over to the water's edge, and Gustav promptly shook out his blanket and collapsed on it.

Hiccup sighed. The thrill of adventure had died away, now that they had gone as far as they dared. Now pressure crushed his mind. He had packed some chiefly work, for moments like this but he hadn't anticipated all this free time.

If he could call it free time with the staggering amount of papers and decisions he still had to make. These had been left over from the before the battle started. He would have to redo many of these, considering the recent changes.

He sat down on a flat rock and pulled out the first document from a elderly villager who wished to have a funeral arranged just in case. His heart sunk. He grimly read the document. The villager wanted a burning at sea, with all his possessions on a wooden boat that would be custom made and flew out by dragon. Hiccup crossed out the dragon and custom-made boat parts. The villager would have to settle for a normal boat that had no more use.

He scanned over three more documents such as these. He started to get a headache, and he put the papers down and rubbed his forehead.

Valka walked over from where she had been taking notes of the plant life. "All right, Hiccup?"

He sighed. "I still have so many papers to do for chiefly work. I've only gotten through about an eighth."

Valka sat down. Her eyes had a faraway look. "Did you know" She started off. "I often thought that your father, when I met his again a year ago, looked very tired? I could tell, even though I had left for two decades. He seemed angrier."

Hiccup sat up with interest as Valka continued. "When I got back to Berk, I asked several people who knew Stoick in the old days about the change, and they agreed. They said that after I had left, he grew slightly moodier, you see, and very tired."

Hiccup pondered this. "What are you trying to say?"

Valka placed a hand on his knee. "I'm saying, that when I left and your father had to lead alone, it got harder for him. The role of chief isn't meant to be for one person. It's meant to be for a ruling couple, a chief and his chieftess."

Hiccup now grasped what she meant. "Mom, Astrid and I discussed this! She doesn't want to get married right now, we agreed on later."

"And how long ago was that?"

"Maybe half a year."

"Exactly. This is later now, Hiccup! And it's a good time, to cement our village here and to help recover. And you need Astrid. More than you may realize."

Hiccup groaned. "Yes, I suppose all that is true, but we need to take Astrid's feeling into account too! I'm definitely not going to force her into a marriage she doesn't want."

Valka asked him," Do you want it?"

Hiccup went silent. Would he want to marry Astrid? Spend the rest of his life with her?

"Yes."

"Then you should ask her. I mean," She said with a knowing smile. "I already asked her about it, and she seemed on board with the idea."

She walked away, while Hiccup gaped at her. Astrid had already talked with her? And she was okay with it?

* * *

Their group eventually left the rocks and trekked back to the village. There, they saw that they were the second to arrive. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Bucket and Mulch's team had arrived. They all sat around a table. Hiccup pulled out some notes of his.

"Maybe we should start comparing notes to see what we got. We can wait for them in between." Fishlegs nodded and pulled out a notebook.

He passed his notes to Fishlegs, and had just started to examine Fishleg's findings when he heard Tuffnut shout.

"Hey, they beat us!" Hiccup looked up and saw the south team tramping back from the woods. "We though we would get back first!"

Gothi, Astrid, and Ruff and Tuff arrived at the table and sat down. Astrid slid over to where Hiccup sat, where he slid an arm over her shoulders. She smiled and pecked him on the cheek. "How did it go?"

Hiccup nodded toward the others. "I'll tell you everything after I give a report." Astrid nodded, and he found himself thinking about Valka had said. Did she really want to marry him?

He turned to the group. "Okay, let's talk about the findings."

The north side had discovered that there really were hot springs, and many of them were suitable for bathing in, and perhaps as a last resort if the water supply ever ran out. Some of the pools, however, had dangerous eels and poisonous fungi they would have to stay away from.

The north team also found that the field in which they had started had wild hay and some miscellaneous vegetables that would be very useful as farming.

The south side's forests went on for acres, and they had had to skim the edges of it so they could get across in time. They were thickly wooded, and the trees were tall and strong. That could be essential in building. They also stumbled upon several wild sheep and boats, which they could capture and use as farm animals.

Hiccup had Gobber test the piece of rock he had chipped off, and he announced it was a new kind of stone he had never encountered before, but was very strong. If they could find a way to melt it, it might have undiscovered properties they could mold into different things.

The grassland seemed unlikely to be of any use for food, but as feed for animals it would be very useful. It could also be used as fuel in the winter. The rocky beach, upon further investigation by Gustav, had many cod and salmon.

The island proved to be a very prosperous place. They would easily build a new village here on Berk.

They all dearly missed Old Berk, which they had taken to calling it, where all their lives had been spent. But they knew that this was a time for new beginnings. Everything had changed, there were plentiful opportunities. Berk would survive. Berk would prosper. Berk would begin again.

There were endings, for sure, but nothing truly ends.

Not even the age of the dragons.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I always appreciate reviews.

~ScribeOfTheLegends


	2. Chapter Two: Back To The Edge

After The War Ch2

During the next week, preparations were made with much gusto from New Berk. Teams worked on chopping down trees for building and skinning the leafy boughs for firewood. Gothi led daily expeditions to find medicine and returned every trip with exciting stories (written in the dirt and transcribed by Gobber) one of which included a very angry nest of hornets. Hoark turned out to be an excellent chef, and prepared meals with a team of volunteers. The auxiliary team oversaw everything else, such as fishing, mapping, and rationing, except for building plans which were taken care of by Edge Riders.

Hiccup appointed an Edge Rider to each part of rebuilding. Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins were respectively oversaw walls, roofs, and foundations. They didn't build them yet, but instead planned out how to make and build them. Gobber would go with them to find materials and supplies. Valka and Astrid were asked to take care of locations for the buildings. They would decide where the forge went, the town, the Great Hall, among others. They debated often until midnight. Eret was in charge of fortifying the island against natural disasters such as wildfires and lightning storms, and other disasters, such as Tuff-and-Ruff-caused-fires.

As for Hiccup, he overtook the job of overseeing everyone, and handling chiefly matters. Every morning new Terror mails came from different islands who demanded to know why their dragons had to be locked in to prevent them from flying away. He had to write back saying it was caused by Toothless's summoning, and to let them go, as it was too dangerous for them. Then he would take care of the Terror, rejoicing in the sight of a dragon again, albeit a small one and rather lacking of a unique personality. He had to send them off as quickly as they came, for fear a villager would see one and try to keep one. It was slightly cruel, for he knew that the villagers would be kind to the Terror and longed for dragon companionship. But he knew he had to stick the unwritten rule that dragons could not be kept here, regardless of their will or not.

Then the Terror mails would just repeatedly come back, demanding to know where he had gotten this ludicrous idea. He had had to repeat himself many times. He always felt sorrow when writing them, knowing he was taking away a vital part of each village he responded to.

They all still felt extreme pressure and sorrow; at times Hiccup would just push away all the paperwork and join Astrid in talking about their dragons. Hiccup would fret over Toothless, worrying if he had been caught or captured on his way to the Hidden World.

Life grew unexpectedly boring for the twins. No more could they explode random things at will. They had to manually light a match or mix a gas bomb, then wait for it detonate. They couldn't use any Zippleback gas either, as they hadn't thought to store any. Fishlegs had resorted to blurting out random facts about the unique flora and fauna they found on the island. He still seemed very solemn, and had lost his bright and eager vigor for the time being. Snotlout was not one to show tears, however he, like everyone else, would shed a few tears at night. His boasting had greatly decreased, and he no longer tried to upstage Eret. His life seemed humdrum when not randomly attacked by his own dragon. Astrid was perhaps the least changed on the outside. She still was a hard worker, offered sharp rebukes when necessary, and maintained her strong spirit.

Inside, however, she was as broken as any of them. No one else had noticed this; they always expected her to be emotionally surer and wiser than any of them. Astrid would feel hammered into tiny pieces when alone, having to comfort Hiccup and herself.

They were all still very broken, a part of them had left with the dragons. That part of them couldn't be rebuilt on their own. It could heal, but there would always be a imprint of their dragons. In the designs of their houses, weapons, and clothes. In the closets where now-unnecessary flight suits had been stored. And in them.

********************************************  
One day, about a week after the Great War, as they had taken to calling it, Hiccup awoke to hear children laughing close to his tent. Very close to his tent. He groaned. The sky was only light pink. He strapped on his prosthetic, combed his hair with a few quick swipes of the brush, and stepped outside.

What he saw almost made his heart stop. A group of young children were playing a Terror, teasing him with pokes and shrieking when it nipped their fingers. They crowded around the Terror and stroked it.

He saw that there was a scroll firmly tucked in the Terror's hind claws. He dashed forward, hoping that none of the children had seen it. He reached down to take the Terror, when a child looked up and squealed. "Hey, we wanna play with the drag—" The young blonde girl stopped when she saw it was Hiccup. Her eyes went round and she slowly backed up until she rounded the corner of his tent. Hiccup heard the pounding of her footsteps as she ran away.

The other children had frozen in shock. They parted to let him take the Terror.

Hiccup tried to smile at the children and tuck the scroll away simultaneously. He knew he would have to dissuade them from this in the future. "Hey, make sure you stay away from dragons like this, okay?"

A few children nodded timidly, knowing who he was, but one ignorant brown-haired boy piped up," But we used to have dragons everywhere! It's just for a second!" The others rapidly elbowed him, and Hiccup honestly had to resist the urge to laugh as he watched them whisper," That's the Chief, Vik!"

Hiccup squatted next to Vik, who looked very scared. "I know we used to have dragons, but they moved on, remember? And this dragon here," He gestured to the Terror. "Has some very important news to tell me. "  
Vik bowed his head. "I'm sorry," He whispered. Hiccup felt a rush of sympathy for him. "Tell you what, do you guys want to help me take care of him? You can feed and wash him."

Vik and the other children looked up with excitement. "Yes! Yeah!" They yelled.

Hiccup tugged the scroll from the tired Terror and tucked it in his pocket, then faced the children. "I'm going to go get some dragon feed, stay right here, okay?"

He walked inside his tent, and set the Terror down gently. He removed the scroll from his pouch and decided he would read it later. He set it on his desk and turned to take some bits of cod from a bucket.

He walked outside with the Terror nestled in his hand. He gave the cod to the children, instructing them not to give too many pieces to the Terror, and watched as they eagerly jostled around him to feed the Terror.

He felt very happy at seeing the children so excited, but it also came with a slight sadness. The children of the future would not know the joy of growing up with dragons, instead dragons would be mythical creatures of which they would never see.

When it was Vik's turn, he showed the tiny piece of cod to the Terror, and giggled as it licked it off his hand. He looked at Hiccup with big, blue eyes and said," Thank you, Chief Hiccup!"

He watched as the last child had their turn, and they began to gently pet the dragon. He turned around to get a bucket of soap and water to wash the exhausted messenger. He rounded his tent to get water, and saw Astrid walking toward him.

"Astrid! Good morning."

"Good morning!" She returned. "Mrs. Wilkings is looking for her son, apparently he ran away when he saw a Terror. Was it one of yours?"

Hiccup nodded. "It was delivering a message when the kids found it."

Astrid tilted her head. "Kids, plural?"

Hiccup took her hand and led her toward the children. She smiled when she saw them, and when they looked up, they jumped up and hugged her. "Astrid! It's Astrid!"

Hiccup turned to her. "They know you?"

She laughed. "I was helping the cooks one day, when they slipped into the kitchen and tried to sneak food. I helped them get their snacks."

Hiccup stared. "You can cook?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Don't be so surprised, every girl has to know." She turned to the kids. "Are you taking care of the Terror?" They nodded and she bent down to stroke the Terror. "Can I help you?"

Astrid helped them clean the Terror without getting wet, and then left them with strict instructions to be careful. Hiccup and Astrid walked into the tent, and he hugged her, murmuring on the top of her head. "How are you?"

Astrid hugged him back and sighed. "I'm okay." "You sure?"

"I'm sure." He felt her tense up against him, not sure what it was. Perhaps if he had paid more attention, however, he would have noticed how tense and worried Astrid actually was.

He let go of her and sat down on his chair. "I got this message from Yagfr Island." He picked up the scroll.

Astrid leaned over and smoothed out the crumpled paper, her expression growing solemn. She read the paper, and sighed. "They're still really reluctant to let their dragons go."

Hiccup said,"I was expecting that. Considering Yagfr's Chief has always been stubborn, and it's only the fourth mail to them."

Astrid asked him,"How many messages do you send each island?"

He replied,"About ten or eleven, but only one village has let their dragons go so far. And that's only because they're the closest."

Astrid grimaced. "I feel so guilty taking this away from them. I mean, they weren't raided or attacked like we were."

Hiccup acknowledged this. "Well, yes, but pretty soon the dragon trappers will be looting from them. We're trying to save the dragons beforehand."

Astrid replied," I know. How about we look at this new message more thoroughly?"

Hiccup read the short message, his head beginning to ache as he did so. They were very reluctant to let their dragons go, which was very understandable, but they did not get the point that there were always dragon hunters and trappers.

He took a piece of parchment and a pencil, then scribbled out a note back to the Chief of Yagfr. He again stressed the importance to let them go, trying to write in a sympathetic manner and yet convey the message.

He signed the letter, rolled it up, and tied it with a spare piece of string. "We should probably get the kids now. Do you want me to tell Mrs. Wilkingson?"

Astrid nodded. "It'll probably be better hearing it from you. I can send the mail, and I'll take the kids back."

They walked outside and he waved goodbye to the children. As he walked away, he heard Vik yelling,"Thank you, Mr. Hiccup!"

He had to stifle a laugh. Mr. Hiccup? He walked to the Wilkingson's tent, easily discernible by the small sign labeling it "Wilkingson." He heard a pot boiling and plates clanking as he walked toward it. He knocked on the side pole. "Mrs. Wilkingson?"

A head poked out of the tent, then Mrs. Wilkingson emerged from the flap. She looked hassled, with an apron clumsily tied and a baby cradled in her right arm. She saw Hiccup, and straightened up. "Goodness me, Chief Hiccup! I'm so sorry, have you seen Vik? I asked that girl of yours, Astrid, to ask you."

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, he saw a Terror outside my tent. It's fine, he was very polite. He should be here very soon, Astrid should be walking him here."

Mrs. Wilkingson smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry about all the fuss, Vik hasn't been very obedient lately, and the new baby," She rocked her baby. "Has been very demanding."

Hiccup smiled. "It's no trouble at all, ma'am. In fact, if you'd like to send him over sometime, Astrid and I could take care of him."

Mrs. Wilkinson laughed, now put at ease. "Ah, that should be fun! You two will be very good parents one day, no doubt about that. I've got to go now, the water's boiling. Thank you again!"

Hiccup barely registered her words before she disappeared into her tent. He started to walk away, processing her words. Parents? They weren't even properly engaged to be married yet!

He passed Ruff and Tuff's tent, and noticed voices talking from behind it. Curious, he rounded the corner of their tent to see what was going on.

Ruff and Tuff were standing around a table with many maps and pieces of rock on it. They were talking animatedly when they saw Hiccup. "Hey! It's H!" Ruffnut exclaimed. "Come check this out!"

He walked over to the table. Tuffnut pointed a finger at one type of gray rock. "See, when you asked us to do foundations for houses, we started to raise money for orphaned houses. Then Fishlegs told us that you wanted foundations for building houses. So we came across this!" He brandished the rock in front of Hiccup's face.

Hiccup took the rock and examined it. It was small, about fist size, and did not seem all that amazing. He looked at Tuffnut's eager face. "Is... this supposed to be something great?"

Ruffnut sighed. "Oh Hiccup. Your mind is so limited. So you see, we tested this rock with some dangerous things, to see if it would survive. We tried to burn it, we tried to drown it, and then Tuffnut buried it in the ground. Then, when we went back a week later, it was still there!"

Hiccup sighed. What else could he have really expected but this?

Hiccup sat at his desk later, after having demoted the twins to helping Eret with fortifications. He had asked Astrid to do this job with the job she shared with Valka. She willingly agreed to, yet Hiccup didn't notice the strain under her eyes.

He contemplated what to do next. Rebuilding efforts were going strong, they had covered all basic needs. The thing was, he didn't have up-to-date status reports on everyone's jobs. He had no idea how Fishlegs was doing with the walls. They couldn't build walls without a foundation, and couldn't build roofs without walls.

He decided that he needed to have a council meeting. The meeting would be for everyone who was overseeing something in the village. He would ask for everyone's report, and let them ask any questions. He knew he had questions for all of them, like whether they were actually doing their job and not slacking off like the twins.

Yes, he thought. A council meeting would work best. He hadn't had a council meeting in a long time.

He planned it out. They would meet at noon that day, and talk about reports over lunch. Then, after lunch, he would ask them some questions and let them ask some too. This way, any concerns they had would be addressed with everyone there.

Later, during mid morning, he walked around to everyone, explaining there would be a council meeting and they would have to attend. They all agreed to be there, so it would be very crowded, adding Gustav, Gothi, Gobber, among others.

When the time came for the council meeting, Hiccup arrived at the designated table, and saw the twins, Gothi, and Astrid already there. He sat next to Astrid, and asked her," How's it going on the materials for the foundations?" He didn't expect her to be done, he didn't even expect her to be halfway done. Not because of Astrid personally, but because of the fact it had taken the twins a week to get nowhere.

Astrid smiled wearily. "Finished."

Hiccup stared at her. "You finished? I just asked you to do it a few hours ago! How did you finish?"

Astrid looked at her hands. "I just worked fast. All the materials were really easy to find."

Hiccup was still gaping at her when Fishlegs and Snotlout arrived at the table. He shook himself out of surprise, marveling again at Astrid's speed and diligence. "Fishlegs, Snotlout, have you seen anyone else?"

Fishlegs pointed behind him. "I saw Gobber and Valka behind us."

Soon everyone arrived, and they all crowded around the table. Hiccup stood up, now feeling slightly nervous, and started off the meeting by asking," Okay, so, let's go around saying what we've gotten done for our individual jobs, and what we still have to do. Fishlegs, can you start?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Sure. For roofs, the woods on the south side would work really well. We've already got some people chopping trees, we would just have to do the planks next. The thing is, I don't know how or when we can get the roofs made, because the walls and foundations aren't completely planned yet."

Hiccup took notes on what he said, then directed his gaze to Snotlout. "Okay, Snotlout, what have you gotten for walls?"

Snotlout pulled out a blank piece of paper. "So, like, I was thinking wood? Ya know, for walls?"  
Astrid facepalmed and Hiccup groaned. "Snotlout," He started off. "You need to have building plans, how you're going to get the walls up, and you need more materials than wood."

Snotlout scribbled on the piece of paper. Hiccup leaned over to see what he had written, and saw that he had drawn a house. A two-dimensional house. That was basically a square.

Snotlout showed it to Hiccup. "So, like this?"

Hiccup shook his head. "You know what, I'll just take walls. You don't have to do any of it for walls."

The meeting continued in this manner, and when they finished, Hiccup's notes looked like this.

Fishlegs- Needs walls and foundations before more work Snotlout- Is an idiot Twins- Recently demoted, no duties Astrid- Finished foundation materials and plans Valka and Astrid- Planned out locations for almost all of Berk, just some villages and Great Hall Eret- Fortifications secure, need direct water system to put out fires Gothi- Almost all herb stocks replenished; asked for apprentice Auxiliary- Fish surplus, mapping almost done, all families resupplied

He though the meeting went very well, and he almost dismissed them before he realized he needed to ask if they had concerns. "Great, do any of you guys have questions?"

Most of them shrugged, but Astrid's hand went up. "Yes?" He asked her.

She bit her lip before replying. "You know how you've been getting Terror nails from villages inside the Archipelago?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She continued. "What about the ones outside, like the Wingmaidens or Berserkers? Dragons were a huge part of their life, and we don't know if anything happened to them."  
Hiccup's eyes widened in realization when he thought about what she had said. It was true, dragons had been an essential part of the Wingmaidens, Berserkers, and most of all, the Defenders of the Wing. They needed dragons to survive. Had their dragons left, too?

Valka looked curious. "Are they the villages you visited when you went to the Edge?"

Snotlout said," Yeah, they are. Wow, what did happen to them?"  
Gobber joined in. "What are ya saying, Astrid?"

Astrid replied. "I'm saying, that we need to have some form of communication with them. Obviously they can't send us Terror mails, because it's too far, and they have no idea anything's changed."

Hiccup nodded. "We seriously need to catch up. They could be just fine, but hey also could be in trouble."

Gobber held up his hand. "Lad, you can't go around helping other islands. We've got enough trouble as it is. We've just started living on our own island."

Hiccup considered this. "Well, that is true, but wouldn't it also work to help them, and then restart when we get back?"

Valka leaned forward. "Back from where?"

Astrid responded," Back from outside the Archipelago. We could visit each island! Maybe just for a day, or two. Just to make sure they're okay. And we could even visit the Edge."

They fell silent as they remembered the Edge. Was it now crumbling, in shambles after having been neglected for three years?

Hiccup thought aloud. "If we went right now, then we could come back and start right back up where we left off. It wouldn't change anything, and wouldn't it be our duty to check the other islands?" Fishlegs nodded. "If they didn't have dragons, they could be in serious trouble."

Gobber looked as if they were all insane. "Are ya crazy? It is not anybody's duty but their own to check on themselves. If ya haven't gotten any mails yet, then they'll be fine. Hiccup, ya can't go frolicking off to some other island right now!"  
Astrid jumped in. "Gobber, you just heard everyone's reports. Everything's almost done. This is a great time to leave!"

Gobber sighed, looking very put-off. "Well, I suppose I can't argue with all of Berk. If ya are so determined to leave, go ahead. But I won't like it."

Snotlout cheered. "Back to the Edge!"

Hiccup sat on his cot, getting ready to go to sleep. He was full of excitement and anticipation, as they were going back to the Edge! They would see all their friends, David, Mala, and Heather.

Although he couldn't quite shake off the lingering feeling of doubt. Gobber had planted a seed in his head, growing by the minute. They had just started living on a new island, and now they were rushing off, taking some of their best fighters with them.

He breathed heavily. Maybe, he thought, he would go see Astrid. They hadn't had a chance to talk after the meeting, and he wanted to see what she thought. Even though it was late at night, he knew she liked to work late.

He opened his tent flap and exited. He walked to Astrid's tent in the silvery darkness, his prosthetic thumping with every step.

He was about to softly knock on her tent pole, when he heard a crying sound. He froze automatically. Was Astrid crying?

He decided to brush open the tent very quietly. He stepped inside, looking for Astrid. She was huddled on the corner of her bed, her head buried in her knees, which were brought close to her face. She looked up when Hiccup entered, and he saw that her face was painted with tears.

"Hiccup!" She gasped. She wiped her hands on her face, trying to hide her tears when Hiccup stepped forward and stopped her.

He stared at Astrid's watery blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

Astrid began to nod bracingly, but then slowly shook her head. "No." She choked out. "No, I'm not."

Hiccup crawled onto her mattress and tucked her into his arms, not sure of what to say.

He had no idea she felt this way. A surge of guilt washed over him. He thought of the extensive work she had been doing, comforting everyone else, and he had given her an entirely new job today.

Her head was on his chest, and he felt her begin to cry. He wrapped his arms around her, and rocked her.

When her crying quieted down, Hiccup tilted her face up. Her nose was red and her hair frizzled. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt this way."

Astrid's lip wobbled. "I've just been really emotional lately, with rebuilding and I have so many jobs and everyone's worried and so was I but I didn't want to show it and now we're going back to the Edge and the dragons aren't here with us and I just don't what to do!" She burst out in a string of incoherent words.

Hiccup softly said," If you feel this way, you need to tell me. You shouldn't have to carry this alone. You told me that, and now it's my turn to tell you." He kissed her gently.

Astrid breathed shudderingly. "Thank you."

Hiccup hugged her tighter. "I promise you'll never have to feel this way again. Just wait, when we go back to the Edge we'll have no work, just relaxation. You really need it."

She nodded, and the smallest hint of a smile appeared on her face. "Yeah, I think I do."

********************************************  
In two days, they had prepared everything for the journey. All the Edge Riders were going, and Eret and Valka decided to go, as they had never seen the Edge before.

They had packed plenty of fish, water, and emergency supplies. Their ship was filled to the brim with all sorts of things.

Hiccup stood on the deck of the ship, waiting as Gobber and the Auxiliary riders gave the signal to take off. Astrid was beside him, smiling with no trace of stress or anxiety on her face. Snotlout, Valka, Eret, Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs stood slightly behind the happy couple.

He heard Gobber shout," Oi, ready for takeoff! Best of luck!"

He reached for the ship's sail trigger, and pulled it open to envelope the wind. Gobber released the rope, and they were on their way.

Thank you for reading! Have a great day. The next chapter will be up soon. ~ScribeOfTheLegends 


	3. Chapter 3: Defenders of the Wing

After The War Ch3

Hiccup leaned on the wood rail of the ship, admiring the clear aquamarine sea before him. The cold wind sliced through his hair and blanketed his face, bringing with it the thrill of adventure he had missed. The salty tang of the sea filled his mouth, and he lazily turned around to block the incoming gust of wind.

He walked to the center of their small ship, for the fifth time around examining the fascinating rigging. As a boy, he had been interesting in ships, watching as his father sailed off in them. Being the brilliant inventor he was, he took every opportunity to enhance his creations.

The handsome wooden boat was rather small, yet large enough to accommodate the size and cargo of several Vikings. The boat had a top level, in which he now stood, with a strong railing encircling the outside. The second level was belowdecks, and was where they slept and took their meals. There was one room for Valka, Ruffnut, and Astrid. The other room, larger than the first, had to fit Hiccup, Tuffnut, Eret, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. Below that, there was a room where they had stored all necessary cargo, packing mountains of food and cratefuls of weapons. Everything from cabbage to maces were stuffed there.

The entire outside of the ship was adorned with the customary Viking charms, old shields and blunt spikes of metal. They had built this ship in a hurry, enlisting the help of many of the villagers to chop wood and sew sails. It was as tight as a drum and as buoyant as a leaf.

Hiccup overheard voices, and saw Tuffnut and Ruffnut gathered around the side of the ship. They were yelling obscure words at the water, all the while holding fishing poles in their hands.

Hiccup shook his head in amusement. They wouldn't catch anything, with the ship moving at such a pace. The fish couldn't bite the bait with the end of the fishing-string skimming over the water.

He strode over to them. "And what are you two doing?"

Ruffnut turned to face him and almost slapped him with the handle of her fishing pole. He barely ducked in time. "We're fishing." She snorted. "What does it look like? He's so clueless, look at him." She added, talking to Tuffnut.

Hiccup looked over the edge at their fishing lines. Both were bouncing on the water as the ship moved along. He pointed at one. "You do realize you're not going to catch anything like that, right?"

Ruffnut blinked. "Like what?" She testily inquired.

Hiccup replied," See, your lines are bouncing on the water, not hanging down so the fish can grab it."

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Now, Hiccy, have you ever heard of fish grabbing lines in the water? No one wants to catch the plain boring line, they're all wanting to get that exciting one on top of the water, where they can all see."

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "Just— just forget I said anything, ok? Good luck with those fish." He walked away from them, mentally wondering how their brains worked. He looked up, and tried to gauge the time. With no accurate sundials on a ship, he had to guess by looking at the sun's position.

It seemed to be early in the afternoon, maybe two or three o'clock. This was now their third day of traveling, they had left at noon three days ago.

Traveling seemed like the longest and dullest thing to be doing, with dragons they would have been well outside the archipelago by now. On a ship, many of them became very bored, whiny, and seasick.

Remembering seasickness, he descended the stairs to the level right below. He gripped the rail tightly to avoid falling, as the steps were damp with seawater tracked in by Snotlout. Briefly he wondered how Snotlout had gotten wet, then decided not to ponder it. Some things were best left unexplained.

He stepped down to the floor and headed towards the door of the boy's room. Once in front of the heavy wooden door, he called out," Fishlegs, are you still in there?"

He heard a thumping sound, and a feeble voice calling,"Yup, I've been stuck here and I'm likely to be here for the rest of the—"

Hiccup winced and slightly gagged at the splattering sound. He pushed open the door. Inside, Fishlegs was hunched over a bucket with a very annoyed Snotlout sitting across the room.

Snotlout saw Hiccup, and pointed at Fishlegs. "Tell him to stop!" He whined. "He's interrupting the peace." He looked cross, grumpily sitting on his bed.

Hiccup ignored him, and walked over to Fishlegs. He tried to avoid looking into the bucket, instead picking up a new bucket and switching them out. He grimaced as Fishlegs projectile-vomited again. "Ugh." Fishlegs groaned. "I hate ships."

Hiccup walked over to his own bed. "Well, you're stuck on this ship for a while before we can get to the Edge."

Snotlout flopped down, his head facing up. "When are we gonna even get there? This takes so long!"

Fishlegs raised his head. "Well according to my calculations, it's—"

Snotlout snorted. "Rhetorical question, Fishy. I don't care about your calculations."

A flicker of annoyance crossed Fishleg's face before it turned sickly green. He dipped his head back into the bucket.

Hiccup heard footsteps outside the door, coming from the top level. He heard voices talking. He called out. "Who is it?"

A gruff voice replied," It's Tuffnut! H, that you?"

Hiccup got up and walked over to the door. He leaned his ear against the damp wood. "Tuff, is it just you?"

"Let me in! Of course it's just me, but I have a wonderful thing to show you!"

Hiccup exchanged a dour look with Snotlout. "Oh boy, here we go." He placed a hand on the doorknob, and carefully turned.

The door flew open, and Tuffnut emerged, with a large fish in his hand. The fish was, of course, dead, and produced a sour fishy smell. It did not look fresh, not even remotely. Seawater dripped down Tuffnut's arm. "Look." He boasted, swinging the fish around. "Look at his beauty! And Hiccup said we wouldn't catch anything."

Hiccup held his nose, as the scent of fish was disgustingly overpowering. "Tuffnut, that's great and all, but get that out of here!"

Snotlout stared with an open look of incredulity. "Seriously?" He asked Tuffnut. "That fish is so dead! What did you do, go to the fish cemetery?"

Tuffnut raised his eyebrows in a show of mocking. "Ah, naysayers." He reprimanded them. "Look, it's a fish. How dead it is, does not matter. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll walk away from this rudeness and find someone who appreciates my fish."

He walked away with a disgusted look on his face. Hiccup rolled his eyes, and pushed the door shut after him. "Well, that was interesting."

Fishlegs piped up," Well, I hope he doesn't eat it. That fish could be poisonous if he tries to cook it."

Snotlout laughed. "Now that's something I'd like to see. Ahh, just imagine the look on his face."

All at once, they heard a sharp metallic clanging sounding throughout the ship. Hiccup looked around wildly, before leaping up with Snotlout. Fishlegs dropped his bucket, and covered his ears.

Snotlout cried," It's the alarm! We need to get up there."

Hiccup flew out the door with Snotlout on his heels. They heard Fishlegs totter after them, making retching noises. "Fishlegs, come on!" Hiccup ran up the stairs.

The above deck was filled with all the passengers, staring up at the blue sky. Hiccup ran over to Astrid. "What is it?" He panted. "We heard the alarm."

Astrid pointed up at the sky. "Look!"

Hiccup jerked his head up, and saw two miniature dots high above them. They looked like...

Dragons.

Wild dragons?

Tame dragons?

They didn't know.

They stared up, wondering what to do. Hiccup asked them," When did you notice them?"

Eret replied," Just now, mate. Rang the alarm fast as we could. Is everyone up here?"

Hiccup looked behind him and saw Fishlegs emerging from the stairs. "I'm here! I'm here! What are you looking at?"

Ruffnut pointed at the dots, and as they all stared up again, the dots seemed to get closer.

And closer.

Until they saw the hard glint of blue Razorwhip, and the bright red-black of the Triple Stryke.

There were shouts of exclamation all around, and cries of joy. Heather and Dagur did likewise as they saw the company on board. They leapt off their feet, and embraced their fellow riders.  
Now of course there were questions in their minds, lingering feelings of doubt. They wondered why they took such a lowly arrival, arriving on this small boat instead of on their grand dragons. But they didn't waste time with curiosity, this was a time for joy! Their friends, comrades of two years past were here and reunited with them.

Heather and Windshear touched down on the boat first, rocking it rather wildly. She cried," Hey! You guys!"

Astrid was at her side in an instant, showering her with hugs. Fishlegs and Snotlout joined them, with Eret and Valka curiously looking on.

Hiccup watched as Dagur leapt down from Sleuther a moment later. He looked stunned to see them. "Hiccup?! How-What-What are you guys doing here?"

Hiccup ran over to the happy group, taking part in the frivolity and amazement. He hugged Heather and Dagur, and took a moment to pet Sleuther and Windshear. It felt wonderful to feel dragon skin again.

He spotted Valka and Eret looking unsure, standing outside the group, so he took them and introduced them. "Heather, Dagur, this is my mom, Valka, and a friend, Eret. Mom, Eret, this is Heather and Dagur. We met them while we were on the Edge."

Valka's face brightened. "Heather! Dagur! It's so good to finally meet you."

Heather grinned. "Likewise, Mrs. Haddock."

Valka shook her head. "Now, call me Valka, dear. None of this Mrs. Haddock nonsense."

Dagur was staring at Hiccup. "Brother!" He laughed. "What happened to you? You got even taller! Well, you're still a shrimp, that hasn't changed."

Hiccup tried to put a dissuading expression on his face at that, but his face broke out in a huge smile. "Dagur! Hey, good to see you too!"

Dagur and Heather had changed their appearances very little. Heather's outfit was still Razorwhip themed, with her customary leather top and glassy skirt. However, instead of her side braid, it was now braided down her back. Dagur had evidently opted for a more kingly look, being the King of Defenders of the Wing. He wore a black tunic and a belt adorned with a few white slashes. An axe with a black handle was strapped to his back. Everyone had greeted each other, hugs went around, and general cries of joy filled the air. Eventually the initial excitement died away, and they gathered around, eager to share news.  
Heather smiled brightly. "It's so good to see you guys again! How's it going?"

Hiccup shrugged. "It's ok. Everything's fine, for the most part-"

He was cut off abruptly as Astrid jabbed her elbow into his side. "You've got to tell them. They're probably wondering what actually happened." She whispered into his ear.

Hiccup sighed. All eyes were on them, two pairs expectant and the rest dreading. He faced Heather and Dagur. "Ok, so a lot of things happened. Some good, some bad. I guess I should start from the beginning."

He explained how things had gone after they had left the Edge, beginning with how a year after, Stoick had retired and passed on the job of Chief to Hiccup. He talked of Drago's arrival, how they had met Eret, and eventually how he had found his mother.

It was hard for him to find the right words for the next part; he had to describe how the battle went, how their alpha's battled, and what happened when Toothless killed Stoick.

He left a heavy silence after, then continued on with the eventual downfall of Drago.

After, he went on to tell them about his first year of Chief, terribly busy but profitable. Then explaining Grimmel's arrival, how he threatened to take down every Night Fury.

Then came the Light Fury, how Toothless had eventually won her, and how he had become accepted as the rightful alpha in his rightful place. But then came the hardest part.

He told of the parting in a few simple sentences, deeming them explanatory enough. There was a long silence afterwards.

Heather, who had a few tears in her face, broke the silence. "So, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at New Berk?"

Dagur nodded. "Yeah, you've got an island to build and villagers to support. You're the Chief now, you should be there."

Hiccup replied grimly," I know. But we thought that it would be a good idea to check on other islands, and..."

He didn't want to introduce this idea to them, that it would be better for Windshear and Sleuther if they let them go. It was similar to how he had sent relentless letters to neighboring islands, except this was in person. And Heather and Dagur were their friends. He didn't want to do this to them, especially since they were so far from the dragon trappers. But he knew it had to e done.

He picked up where he had left off. "And we think that all dragons should be free. So..."

He left the thought hanging, waiting for them to realize what he said.

Heather took a step back, flattening herself against Windshear. "No!"  
Hiccup sighed. "Heather, I know you really don't want to do it. But eventually-"

"I don't care, I don't care! I know why, but unlike you guys, we have a choice! Our dragons will be safe!" She fiercely cried out.

David stepped forward. "Look, you can't just sail in here and expect us to let our dragons go. They're our dragons, Hiccup!"

Hiccup held up his hand. "I know, believe me. But dragons don't belong with us. If they stay with their humans, other humans will try to trap them, sell them, slaughter them. You guys know how cruel people can be to dragons! You've seen it happen!"

Sleuther and Windshear glanced around nervously, unsure of what was happening. Dagur slowly shook his head. "No, I can't. We can't."

Hiccup's heart twisted. This was worse than sending letters to dissuade, far worse. Here, he was actually standing in front of the people he had to confront. He was speaking real words and seeing their real reactions and responses.

Hiccup tried again. "What about what your dragons want? Windshear does have a lot of family on Wingmaiden island, but we've never seen another Triple Stryke."

Heather shook her head violently. "No! Hiccup, we can't. They're a part of us!"

Hiccup scratched his head awkwardly. "Look-"  
He was interrupted by a hand tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see Astrid looking up at him. "Let me. I think I can convince Heather. It'll be better without everyone crowding around."

Hiccup considered this. Heather did trust Astrid the most, far more than any of the others. He nodded. "What should we do for Dagur?"

Astrid shrugged. "I'm not sure, just let me try to convince Heather." She left his side and walked over to Heather. Astrid took her downstairs, presumably to the girl's room.  
Hiccup faced everyone else. "While they're gone, Dagur, how about you tell us your news?"

Dagur nodded briskly, as if trying to shove the idea of letting Sleuther go into the back of his mind. He said," Well, not much really happened, compared to your news. But, umm, well Heather is sole Chief of the Berserker tribe. She's doing pretty well, but the dragons still can't fly over the island without being affected by the King. Nothing we can do about that. Umm, so, Defenders of the Wing! Mala and I are doing pretty well, she just gave birth to our son!"

Here there were gasps, and Fishlegs squealed. "Ooh! That's so exciting!"

Dagur smiled. "Yup, it's been amazing. We named him Oswald. Figured Dad might like that." He chuckled softly.

Hiccup smiled. Mala and Dagur were surely excellent parents, although one fairly crazy and the other insanely stern. "Anything else?"

Dagur thought for a moment. "Nope, not much of importance."

Snotlout broke in. "Well what are you guys doing so far away? I'm pretty sure we're still in the archipelago."

Dagur stared and skeptically looked around. "Hey, uh, is there something wrong with Snot-hat? I mean, something else."

Valka's eyebrows flew up. "We're outside the archipelago?"

Dagur nodded. "Of course. Defenders of the Wing island is right there." He pointed off the ship. Tuffnut and Ruffnut ran to the side, squinting their eyes once they reached it. They turned back around. "Guys! It's right there!"

Hiccup and Fishlegs dashed to the side. On the blue water, Hiccup could barely make out the trees and shore of Defenders of the Wing island. Fishlegs bounced on his heels. "Oh, land! Sweet, wonderful land!" Dagur laughed. "Well, someone's seasick. So, you guys wanna visit Defenders of the Wing island?"

They abruptly changed course; they were now headed toward the island. As they zoomed closer, going faster as the wind was in their favor, the island became more sharply defined. They could see little had changed, from the statue of the Great Protector to the orderly cabins.

As they were about to dock at one of the great harbors the island boasted, Astrid and Heather emerged from the belowdecks. Heather's face was slightly red and her eyes were wet. She saw Hiccup, wiped her eyes, and hurried off to Dagur.

Hiccup shot her and Dagur a worried glance, then went to Astrid. She looked worried and slightly sympathetic. Hiccup asked her," How did it go?" Astrid sighed and leaned against him. "I think I may have changed her mind, but I feel so awful doing it. It's different for her, she's had Windshear since she was a hatchling."

Hiccup nodded and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, she does have a close bond with Windshear. But it's better for Windshear. Dagur too, he's already lost one dragon."

Astrid put a hand on his chest. "Yeah. Remember Shattermaster? Gods, that was so long ago."

Hiccup smiled, and opened his mouth to reply, before Astrid looked around curiously. "Wha-How are we already at Defenders of the Wing island?"

"Apparently we need to work on our sailing. And our sea-mapping. We were already around here, we just don't realize it. Good thing we did in time, or else we would have no idea where we were."

They stood in silence, taking the view of the staggering rock cliffs of the island. The ship rocked back and forth wildly as it hit the dock. Men and women in black tunics and uniforms shouted orders as they drew the boat closer and tied ropes to the dock.

There was an overwhelming scent of fish; the salty tang invaded his nose and made him sneeze. The dock was wooden and old, though very large. A team of villagers worked there, throwing lines and hauling fish. Great piles of shining fish flopped nearby.

Dagur jumped off first, then held a hand out to the rest of them. Once they were all safely on the dock, Hiccup saw Mala trotting toward them-with a basket on her arm.

Dagur grinned, and nudged Hiccup. "Here comes my wife! And," He added. "One screaming, adorable baby."

Astrid gasped. "You guys have a baby?"

Dagur held out a hand toward Mala, who had reached them, slightly out of breath. Inside the basket was a blanket, and in the blanket was a baby.

It had pale gold hair, fuzz adorning the top of its head, and the tiniest fingers and toes Hiccup had ever seen. His heart immediately melted. The baby obviously took after Mala, with her sharp nose and narrowed eyes, but he could plainly see the Berserk in him.

Astrid gasped again. "You guys have a baby! Why did no one tell me this?"  
Mala smiled warmly. "We do. Meet Oswald."

Astrid smiled. "Oh my gods, he's adorable."

Mala looked down at her baby with love, but the expression disappeared when she looked up again. "Not that I can't say it's not amazing to see you all, but what are you doing here?" ********************************************

Mala arranged for them to meet in one of the council rooms, a small building with one room, completely enclosed and guarded. They all entered, and sat around a round wooden table. Mala sat down last, and handed Oswald off to Dagur, who cradled the basket and cooed into his face.

Mala gazed at all of them, assembled together for the first time since two years ago. She lifted her head, asking," So, first things first. Why are you here?"

The Berkians all looked to Hiccup. He swallowed, unsure of what to say. "Mala, it's a long story. How about I start from the beginning?"

He recounted the tales of which he had already told Heather and Dagur, what happened with Drago and Grimmel. He hesitantly embarked on the notion of freeing their dragons, knowing two things. Mala would react harshly to this, her personality sharper than Heather or Dagur. And the Great Protector was a key part of their village. Letting it go, was as good as destroying their village.

He said," Mala, we know how important the Great Protector is to your village. We've seen how important it is. But dragons can not stay in this world without being tracked down, trapped, or killed."

Mala's eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. "Hiccup Haddock, what makes you think that this is something new? We have always dealt with dragon hunters. There is no viable reason to let our dragons go. It may be different in the archipelago, but we are safe here."

Hiccup met her eyes. "Mala, this is different. Our enemies are getting smarter. They know how to subdue dragons, capture dragons, and control dragons to the point where their own alpha can't control them. They've already come for us, and now they're coming for you. This is a chance to save the Great Protector before anything bad happens!"

Mala slammed a hand down. "Do you realize that if you take our Great Protector, our village will burn? We have lived here for centuries and we plan to live here for many more." Her eyes were knives directed toward Hiccup.

Hiccup sat back, and lowered his voice. "We have to take precautions sometimes. For your village, for your people. Grimmel was worse than any other person we've ever dealt with. It's not long before they come outside the archipelago. You can't be stuck on tradition for matters like this. Here, it's saving your village, or leaving it vulnerable with a targeted dragon."

The air was tense, they were all on guard. Eyes flickered between Mala and Hiccup, unsure of what would happen next.

Mala suddenly stood up. "Thank you, Hiccup Haddock. We'll resume this tomorrow. I must talk with my council." She took Oswald from Dagur, and they walked out, Dagur glancing back at them.

Hiccup put his hand on his forehead. "Well, that went well."

Snotlout snorted. "That's for sure."

Valka looked after Mala and Dagur. "She really loves the Great Protector, doesn't she?"

Astrid stared at her. "What?"

Valka smiled. "You can see by the way she talked, she is very fond of the Great Protector."

Hiccup nodded. "Well, that's customary. Leaders usually get attached to the Great Protector."

Fishlegs looked up. "Hey, didn't Mala and Throk willingly let the last Great Protector go? You know, to Vanahiem?"

Astrid interjected," Yeah, but it left behind an heir. If the Great Protector leaves right now, then there won't be any others to protect the island."

Hiccup sighed. "Well, then they would have to move, right? And they said they can't do that."

Astrid rested her head on her hand. "Well, then what will we do?"

They were all given separate rooms to sleep in. Mala had promised them they could stay for as long as they needed to, as a sort of recompense for their past help.

Hiccup lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His head was a whirlwind of thoughts. He pondered how to convince Mala, and how he could convince Heather and later, Atali.

He lay awake for hours, not able to sleep without Toothless. He missed the soft snoring and the faint light from his reptilian friend.

Eventually, he got up, deciding he couldn't sleep. He reattached his prosthetic and quietly tiptoed out of his room. He walked alongside a hallway, and exited out a door. He came out onto a deck, and sat down, staring up at the star-ridden sky.

He heard footsteps behind him, and tensed, getting ready to leap up. He looked behind him and instantly relaxed when he saw Astrid.

"Hey. Couldn't sleep?" She whispered.

He nodded, and she sat down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

He tucked an arm around her, and softly asked," Do you ever think we're doing the wrong thing?"

Astrid sighed. "I know it is, but it feels so wrong. If someone tried to take our dragons away and free them, we would have seen them as an enemy. But now, that's what we're doing."

Hiccup nodded. "But Grimmel changed everything."

Astrid nestled next to Hiccup. "Yeah." She let out a breath. "How about we talk about something less morose?"

Hiccup smiled. "Sure. Can you believe Mala and Dagur have a baby?"

"I know, right? He's so adorable. I asked Mala earlier, and he's seven months old. She let me hold him, too."

Hiccup's heart swelled. The thought that Astrid would make an amazing mother crossed his mind briefly.

He thought that maybe he should talk to Astrid about marriage. They had discussed it once before, when Gobber had started pressuring them to get married.

Astrid had said that they would get married someday, they were betrothed and in love. But she wasn't ready yet, and she wanted a bit more freedom before becoming the Chief's wife.

Hiccup had understood this, of course. Being the Chief's wife was an exhausting job, and Astrid was already general of Berk. Being Chieftess would mean all attention on her, pressure to produce the next heir of Berk, and she would share many of his jobs.

Yet he still wanted to marry her. She was Astrid, the girl he'd been in love with since Thor-knows-when. He told her everything, she supported him. Maybe he would ask Valka for advice.

He was cut out of his thoughts when Astrid spoke again. "How are you doing?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I'm okay, but I still miss Toothless. It's weird sleeping by myself.

"I know. I miss Stormfly so much. I miss all the dragons. It's so hard to adjust to them being gone."

"Maybe, but they'll always be with us. Even if not physically, we'll always remember them."

They sat there for a few minutes more, enjoying each other's company and the night sky, remembering their dragons.

********************************************  
Thank you for reading! Have a great day.  
~ScribeOfTheLegends


	4. Chapter 4: The Great Protector

After The War Ch4

Hiccup opened his eyes blearily. His room was a blur, brown mixing with black. Yellow sunlight streamed in from a nearby window. He rolled over to the other side of his bed, mentally recounting what had happened yesterday.

He had fallen asleep next to Astrid under the stars, and had only woken up a few hours prior. He had shook Astrid awake, then suggested they should return to their rooms before they were seen. Astrid had agreed, telling him to go and get plenty of sleep.

But before that, Mala had refused to let the Eruptodon go in a council meeting. He groaned in frustration. Today, he would have to push even further for Mala to free the Great Protector.

He internally sighed. Mala was perhaps the harshest out of all the Chiefs and leaders he would have to confront. Really, he knew he should be glad, that he was getting Defenders of the Wing crossed off, but it didn't make it any easier.

He flipped the covers off him and sat up. He reached for his prosthetic, discarded nearby on the floor, and attached it to his stump with a sharp click. He wearily stood up and stretched his arms.

He heard a knocking on his door, and walked over to the door. "Who is it?" He called.

The door swung open and Fishlegs poked his head in. "Hey Hiccup? Mala wants us in her council room."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "Did she say why?"

Fishlegs shook his head. "No. Just said to get there right now. Apparently she has important news to tell us."

Hiccup groaned. "Well, I'd better get there. Though I'm not looking forward to it. Tell her I'll be there in a minute."

Fishlegs nodded. "Hurry!" He ducked back outside and closed the door. Hiccup heard his retreating footsteps as he walked away.

Hiccup tugged on a shoe, and raked a hand through his messy hair. He redid all of his many belts and buckles, fitting them so he'd be comfortable.

He walked out of the building, heading toward the council room where they had met the day before. He saw a lamp on inside, walking faster so he wouldn't be too late.

He arrived on the doorstep and pushed the door open. He was greeted by the sight of Mala and the riders looking at him. "Sorry I'm late."

Mala's lips formed a thin line. "That's alright, Hiccup. Good morning."

Hiccup nodded and took an empty seat between Valka and Snotlout. He listened as Mala continued. "I've been thinking about your idea, Hiccup, and I've come to an consensus among my council members and I."

Hiccup stared at her, expecting her to launch into some sort of tirade. He unknowingly gripped the underside of the table, waiting for her next words.

What she said, however, was very different from what Hiccup had been expecting. Mala bowed her head and said," We have agreed to release the Great Protector."

Hiccup gaped at her open-mouthed before quickly regaining his composure. "Oh! Mala, that's great."

Mala nodded, but her eyes were sharp and narrowed. "Although I do hope you realize what this means for our village. We will have to move everyone and everything to a new island. The Great Protector was the only thing shielding us from the volcano."

Hiccup nodded. "Of course. We'll be glad to offer our help."

Mala shook her head. "No, that won't be necessary. We do have some questions about this Hidden World, though."

Hiccup leaned forward. "Go ahead."

"Our first question is, where is this Hidden World?" She asked. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him for an answer.

Hiccup gulped. Her green glare scrutinized him, searching for lies. "It's supposed to be at the end of the world. We weren't able to map it, as Astrid and I have only been there once. By dragon back, it takes the better part of a day. But dragons should instinctively know how to find it."

Mala glanced at Astrid. "Can either of you tell us which direction it is?"

Astrid's eyes locked with Hiccup's. They both knew the direction, but Mala sounded like she planned to go there herself. Hiccup looked back at Mala, who was watching them with careful eyes. "Are you planning to go there?" He tentatively asked. The air seemed to tense, electricity seemed to emanate from Mala. She glowered at him. "It's my duty to make sure you aren't feeding us a lie. To do that I need to make sure this Hidden World exists, and our Great Protector will be safe."

Hiccup stared at her unblinkingly. "Mala, the Hidden World is sacred. Humans don't belong there. When we went there, we would have died if Toothless hadn't saved us. It's incredibly dangerous."

Mala shook her head. "No. As leader, I must justify the situation, and the only way to do that is to see this Hidden World for myself."

Inside, Hiccup shrank. Mala was adamant that she would go, yet without a dragon, how would she get back? She might not even be able to enter the Hidden World. Hiccup and Astrid were only able to enter with Stormfly, what would happen with a boat?

Astrid leaned forward and addressed Mala. "Think of it as Vanaheim. No humans are allowed to go there, because it's a sacred spot for dragons."

Hiccup smiled at Astrid. Of course, she would think of Vanaheim, something Mala understood. He could see Mala reconsidering her decision.

Mala stared at the table, deep in thought. Dagur moved to her side and whispered in her ear. She nodded, whispering something back.

After a pause, she nodded. Her eyes rested on Astrid approvingly. "Alright. No one from Defenders of the Wing will enter the Hidden World. You have my word."

Hiccup let out a silent breath. Finally, it seemed as if their troubles on Defenders of the Wing island were over.

Mala continued. "However, I do expect directions. We need information in case of an emergency."

Hiccup nodded. "Sure. I'll write them down for you."

Mala nodded briskly. "Thank you. Meeting dismissed." She and Dagur walked out, with the other dragon riders following close behind.

Hiccup and Astrid were left alone in the room. He turned to face her, and saw her face was filled with worry. He imagined he looked the same way.

Astrid walked closer to him. "Do you think we're still doing the right thing?"

Hiccup replied," I want to do the right thing, but right now we can only do the best thing. Agh, why does this have to be so hard?"

"You're right, it's the best thing. You know that dragons can't live safely with us! Stop blaming yourself."

"Astrid, if I hadn't been foolish enough to be tricked by Grimmel, over and over again, then the dragons might still be here. Toothless and Stormfly would still be here."

Astrid shook her head. "Remember what I told you, two years ago? Don't think of what ifs. What ever happened in the past doesn't change the present because no matter what, you would find yourself here eventually."

Hiccup glared daggers at the floor. "Yeah, I would find myself here, dragonless, an ocean away from my village, trying to rip dragons and humans apart."

Astrid put a hand on his shoulder. "But all of that is for a good reason-"

Hiccup jerked away. "Just because it's for a good reason doesn't mean it's ok."

Astrid watched him with sad eyes. "I know you don't want to do something you don't believe in, and that really is one of the things I love about you. But there comes a point where what you don't want to happen is the only way."

Hiccup stared irritably at the floor. "No. I found a way defeat the dragon flyers without hurting the Singetails."

Astrid walked in front of him, raising her voice. "Hiccup, this is different from the Singetails. Now you have a village and several more on your shoulders. This is the best thing you could do!"

Hiccup sighed and slowly lifted his head to meet her gaze. "It just doesn't feel like it." He quietly said.

Astrid smiled sorrowfully. "I know. It really doesn't. But it's the only way."

They stepped out of the council room and joined everyone outside. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were talking to Valka and Eret, while Snotlout and Fishlegs conversed with Dagur and Mala.

Hiccup took Astrid's hand and tugged her toward Dagur and Mala. They walked up behind them, and Mala turned to face them. She was cradling Oswald in her arms.

She smiled at them. "Hiccup, I'm sorry about the fuss, but my council members made me."

Hiccup shook his head. "Oh, it's fine. I understand."

Oswald let out a high-pitched squeal. Dagur laughed softly. "Hey H, ya wanna hold him?"

Hiccup instantly took a step back. "Hold him?" He sputtered. "No. No no no. I'd drop him."

Astrid cracked up, laughing at Hiccup's fumbling words. "You're not going to drop him. It's just holding a baby." She reached for Oswald, and Mala graciously gave her him. Astrid rocked him in the crook of her arm, then looked up at Hiccup. "See, it's easy."

Hiccup stared at Oswald's bright green eyes and laughing wet mouth, and something inside him just... melted. He held out his arms. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

Mala rearranged his arms. "You support his head with your left arm, and cradle his back with your right."

Astrid gently placed Oswald into his arms, and he felt the comfortable weight sink into his arms. He uncomfortably rocked him, afraid of dropping him.

Mala laughed, then took Oswald back. He gratefully handed the bundle of blankets back, relieved to not have to hold the infant anymore.

Dagur clapped him on the shoulder. "So, plans! Do you guys have time to stay here? Or do you have to get to the next island?"

Hiccup scratched the back of his neck indecisively. "Actually, we might need some help finding the next island. When we know how far away it is, we can make a plan."

Dagur crossed his arms. "Well, what island are you going to next?"

Hiccup looked at Astrid for help, then rolled his eyes when she shrugged. "Maybe Wingmaiden Island?"

Mala knit her eyebrows. "I think that would be just a half a day trip for your boat. The wind is in your favor today, as you would just need to keep heading past our island."

Hiccup nodded. "Great. Do you have any maps we can use? And while we're doing that, I can write down the directions for the Hidden World."

Mala shook her head. "We have only one map of the way to Wingmaiden Island, but we can give you parchment to copy it. Dagur, can you show Hiccup to the library?"

"You guys have a library?" His eyes were wide.

Dagur smirked. "Sure thing. Started collecting books a few years ago." He started to say more, but was cut off by squealing.

They looked over to see Fishlegs hopping up and down. "Did I hear someone say library? And books? Lead me to them!"

Dagur pointed left, then stumbled when Hiccup and Fishlegs ran him over in their haste to get to the library. Astrid, the twins, and Snotlout cracked up as they watched them scurry past, with Dagur chasing after them. Astrid wiped her eyes. "That never gets old."

Mala smiles at her mirth. "Does that happen often?"

"You have no idea. Even now they still geek out over new dragons." She rolled her eyes.

Mala took on a serious expression. "Can I ask you something?"

Astrid straightened her face. "Of course."

"You and Hiccup are engaged, right?"

"Oh no. I feel like I know where this conversation is headed. No, we're not married yet, and we don't plan to become married for a while."

"You have been courting for almost three years. Dagur and I courted for barely two months, and now we have Oswald."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it might be time to think about the next step. You've definitely heard this a thousand times, but as a Chieftess myself, I know that it will do you good to get married. You're settling down on a new island, Hiccup's ruling alone; he could really use your help."

Astrid squeezed her eyes closed. "I know, and all of those are true, but I just don't think I'm ready for that."

Mala patted her on the shoulder. "Take your time, but be aware. Now, I've got to put Oswald down." The baby was drooling and falling asleep. Mala chuckled. "He's ready for the first of his many naps a day. See you later, Astrid." She walked away, presumably to Oswald's nursery.

Astrid watched her go, feeling very unsettled. Would she ever be ready?

It wasn't as if she didn't want to be with Hiccup. They loved each other, they were practically together all the time, and they had been betrothed for two years.

But marriage was a huge step. She'd always known marriage would be on the schedule, but somehow it slipped her mind that she would actually be married someday.

Maybe she could ask Hiccup? As soon as the thought came into her mind, she tried to cross it off. No, she wouldn't bother Hiccup with something like this when he already had so much on his plate.

But uncertainty still occupied her mind.

The Defenders of the Wing Library was huge, about half the size of the old Great Hall. Every wall and aisle was filled with bookshelves which in turn were filled with hundreds and hundreds of dusty books and scrolls.

Hiccup and Fishlegs pored over books they found, exclaiming over facts and finds they read about dragons. Dagur stood off to the side, smirking as he watched them study.

"Hey, you guys done geeking out?"

Fishlegs looked up with an affronted look. "We are not geeking out. We're just... so so so excited about all this! Look at this library full of treasures! And wonders! And so much dragon knowledge I can't even-" He wiped his eyes, having gone misty-eyed during his short proclamation.

Hiccup chuckled. "Well, we are sort of geeking out over this." Fishlegs shot him a look, and he hastily amended his words. "I mean just reading! Yeah, no geeking out here."

Dagur snorted. "Yeahhh, sure. Hey watcha reading?" He looked over Fishleg's shoulder. "Mmhmm. Uh-huh. Wow. So amazing. So the Seashocker swims in the sea? I never knew that." Fishlegs rolled his eyes and flipped the page.

Hiccup hummed as he skimmed over the pages, until he spotted one that made him freeze. He slowly scanned the page, his heart dropping as he did so.

He looked up at Dagur, who was now juggling three books. "Dagur?"

Dagur nodded, his attention still on the books. "Yeah?"

"Have you ever seen a Triple Stryke, other than Sleuther?"

The books fell and clattered to the floor. Dagur looked at him with a dreading expression. "No."

Hiccup winced. He turned around in his chair, the book on his lap. "You may want to take a look at this." He lifted the book and gave it to Dagur. Fishlegs watched them, confused.

Dagur read over the page, his eyes stopping as he came to the part where Hiccup had stopped. He looked up at Hiccup, then back down at the page as if he wasn't sure what he was reading. Hiccup stared at him as though waiting for a verdict.

Fishlegs looked between them, waiting for something to happen. "What? What happened?"

Dagur tossed the book onto the table. "See for yourself." He leaned against a bookcase, ribbon his forehead. "I can handle this. This doesn't change anything. I'm okay." He whispered to himself.

Fishlegs looked over the page. "Triple Stryke. Hey, it's just an info sheet! Venom, Armor..." He stopped. "Number in Existence?"

Hiccup stabbed his finger down on the page. "One in existence." They both looked toward Dagur.

Dagur looked away. "This doesn't change anything. It's fine if Sleuther is the only one! It's fine."

Hiccup shared a look with Fishlegs. "You realize the number might not apply to Sleuther?"

Dagur stared at him, realization dawning on his face. "You mean like... there might be another one? Not just my Sleuther?"

Fishlegs nodded. "It's just like with Toothless and the Light Fury."

Hiccup's heart sank for a second. The mention of Toothless and the Light Fury still hit a sad chord in him.

Fishlegs continued. "Hey Dagur, it might actually be time to think about Sleuther going to the Hidden World..."

Dagur shook his head adamantly. "No. No way, Josè."

Hiccup leaned back in his chair. "Think about what's best for Sleuther. He almost certainly is the only dragon of his kind."

Dagur glared at him. "So? How will going to the Hidden World change that?"

Hiccup crossed his arms. "There are far more chances of another Triple Stryke being there. And you know that if he's the only Triple Stryke in this area, dragon hunters will almost certainly try to capture him."

"Then I won't let that happen."

Fishlegs intervened. "Look, we know you don't want to part with Sleuther. We didn't want to part with our dragons either, but it had to be done for their survival. Sometimes we need to think of what our dragons need, and not what we want."

There was a long silence as Dagur contemplated what Fishlegs said. Then he bowed his head. "Look, I just want to keep Sleuther, alright? I've already lost Shattermaster, and I don't want to lose another."

"It's not losing Sleuther. It's just releasing him."

There was an even longer silence, until Dagur finally spoke. "I'll think about it, okay? I'll tell you later." He walked out of the room, head bowed.

Fishlegs exchanged a look with Hiccup. "Do you think he'll actually do it?"

He shrugged in response. "I don't know." He sighed. "How about we look at that map?"

Fishlegs pulled out a large dusty scroll and unfolded it. It was other than your typical map, maybe three feet wide and four feet tall. On it were the different islands in the archipelago.

Fishlegs pointed to one. "That should be Defenders of the Wing." He trailed his finger to another island, close by. "That should be the Wingmaidens."

"How about you start tracing the map and I write down directions?"

Fishlegs pulled out another blank scroll. "Sounds like a plan."

Hiccup took a spare piece of parchment and scribbled down directions. He hoped they were specific enough, because the Hidden World was... well... hidden. It wasn't meant for people to find in the first place anyway.

Fishlegs tapped the map. "We should probably get going if we're going to reach Wingmaiden Island by nightfall. And it's not going to be a pretty conversation there either, keep in mind."

"Oh, I know." Hiccup rolled up the large master map and tucked it away in a bookshelf. "Truthfully." He leaned closer to Fishlegs. "Atali's personality is... kinder than Mala's, but I expect a nasty response anyway."

Fishlegs nodded. "Well, don't let Mala heat you say that. Think we should go check on the others?"

They stood up, directions in his hand and copied map under Fishleg's arm. Walking out of the building, Hiccup felt a slight sadness at not being able to spend more time in the library. He would have felt worse if he hadn't seen Fishleg's eyes actually watering, and he choked back a laugh.

They exited just in time to see Mala walk away from a downcast Astrid. Hiccup exchanged a look with Fishlegs before hurrying over to Astrid. "Are you okay?"

"What?" She looked up at him, then glanced away. "Yeah, of course. I'm fine."

Hiccup could tell she was lying, in fact he could see she was trying to keep something from him. "Are you sure? You don't seem fine."

Astrid crossed her arms. "I'm fine, Hiccup. Okay?"

He nodded, then asked," What was Mala talking to you about?"

Astrid shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, just... stuff, I guess. Now, what are your plans for Windmaiden Island?"

She was deliberately changing the subject, that he could tell. But he decided to play along for the time being. "If we leave right now, we'll get there by sundown. Maybe nightfall, but then I guess Atali's going to take over from there."

"So, should I get everyone ready to leave?"

Hiccup nodded. "Get the riders and then make sure the boat is ready. I'll go talk to Mala and Dagur."

"On it." She smiled at him, and turned to walk away. Hiccup felt a pang of sympathy for her, amplified even more when he realized the twins must be at the boar pit.

He turned to look for Mala and Dagur, and saw Mala exiting a building made of tan wood. He walked up to her, saying," Thank you so much for letting us stay here, Mala, but we have to get going if we want to reach Wingmaiden Island by today."

She nodded, beckoning Dagur from the side. "Of course. Thank you for the help, we'll see you again soon."

Dagur met his eyes. "Hiccup, I've made a decision." He let out a shaky breath. "I'll let Sleuther go."

Hiccup widened his eyes. He hadn't expected Dagur to make a decision so soon. Mala also seemed surprised. "You're giving up Sleuther?"

Dagur sighed and looked at the ground. "It's not giving him up. It's releasing him. And yes, I'm releasing him."

Mala put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I've had a while to think about it, since yesterday. I think I can do this."

Hiccup jumped in. "Okay, but only if you're sure."

Dagur nodded. "I'm sure."

Hiccup looked for Sleuther, hoping to see the dragon somewhere close. "When?"

Dagur stared at the ground more intently. "Now." He put his fingers to his lips and whistled. Sleuther immediately jumped out of the nearby bushes. Hiccup was impressed, he hadn't even known the Triple Stryke was there.

Dagur and Sleuther walked to the edge of the dock, the former sitting down and kicking the water.

Hiccup exchanged a worried look with Mala, then looked back as Dagur spoke. "Hey, Sleuthy. Wanna know something cool?"

Sleuther nudged his arm, and Dagur places his hand on Sleuther's snout. He whispered quietly," You might be the only Triple Stryke left. Or, maybe you've got a secret future girlfriend somewhere. Anything could happen, huh?"

Hiccup felt as if he was intruding on something special, something deeply private. He turned away, and walked toward the sight of Astrid with the other riders in tow.

Astrid looked past him to see Dagur sitting with Sleuther. Her blue eyes grew wide. "Is he... saying goodbye?"

Hiccup nodded, at a slight loss for words. He didn't think it would be this hard to see a human and dragon be separated because of him. Astrid placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. They made their own choice for this. Stop blaming yourself."

He nodded. "I'll try." Astrid smiled, then gestured to the riders behind her.  
"They're all ready to go. How about we leave after... Dagur finishes."

"Okay. I'll go tell Mala." He went back to Mala, telling her," If it's okay, we'll leave after Dagur... is ready."

Mala replied," That's fine. What about the directions?"

He had almost forgot about them. He pulled them out of his pocket, neatly folded. "They should be specific enough to get there, but only in an emergency."

Mala nodded. "Of course. I think Dagur may be ready." They looked back to see Dagur standing alone on the dock, watching as a red and black dragon flew away from him.

Hiccup felt a tightening in his throat as Dagur walked back toward his own building. His face was wet with tears. Mala trotted toward him, but stopped when he held up a hand. "I just want to be alone right now."

Mala looked after him, her eyes misty. "He'll get over it. In time." She faced back toward him and the riders behind him. "Will you be leaving now?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes."

Mala held a hand out toward the dock. "Then safe travels, and good luck."

Hiccup smiled solemnly. "Then the same for you."

He walked to the dock, with the riders, Valka, and Eret close behind. They boarded the ship, one by one.

Eret tugged the rope free from the docks, and the wind blew their sail wide. The midday sun shone upon them. The boat slowly rocked, back and forth until the wind caught it, and suddenly they were off.

Hiccup looked back with a lump in his throat, as he saw Mala waving with dozens of her tribe on the dock. Farther away, Dagur stood on a high cliff watching them sail away. He lifted a hand in parting.

Hiccup faced the sparking blue ocean, and pointed out. "To Wingmaiden Island." Eret slowly turned the rudder.

They looked up as a beating of wings caught their ears, and watched as a Triple Stryke flew past the sun, over the edge of the sea, and toward the Hidden World.

Thank you for reading! Have a great day. ~ScribeOfTheLegends 


	5. Chapter 5: The Wingmaidens

After The War Ch5

Hiccup leaned heavily on the wooden railing of their boat, staring blankly at the setting sun. The reds and golds reflected off the clear water, rippling as the boat glided over.

He groaned and tore a hand through his hair. After setting off from Defenders of the Wing island a half hour ago, he had sunk into a kind of lost trance. His mind swirled with the things he had done and seen in the past few weeks. The magnitude of a few actions, yet the impact of them.

He turned around slowly, gazing at the few people on deck. The twins sat on a few crates, talking to each other. Fishlegs leaned on the railing a few yards away, engrossed in a book.

He rubbed his eyes, the glare of the sun still appearing when he closed his eyes. He walked wearily past the twins and stumbled down the stairs, trying to focus on the stairs when in the middle of his vision was a circle of purple, from the sun.

He pushed the boy's door open, glancing at the corner to see Snotlout conked out on his bed. He wrinkled his nose, then sat on his own cot.

He sighed and leaned over, his head in his hands. His body was exhausted, by tomorrow his stump would surely be sore, and his mind would not stop bouncing from ideas to thoughts to crazy threats.

In his mind he felt reckless, in his body he felt unimaginably tired. He was overcome with the urge to fall asleep and forget about the world, to jump off the ship and watch as they sailed away, to doing crazy things he knew he would never do.

He flopped down on his bed, wincing as a loud creak echoed from the wooden frame. He turned to see Snotlout, glad he hadn't been woken up. He turned back to face the ceiling, closing his eyes and trying to focus on one thing.

Defenders of the Wing. Dagur had released Sleuther to the Hidden World, in the hopes that he would find a mate of his own, another Triple Stryke. Much like what happened with Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to think about it.

Wingmaiden Island. They were headed there right now, thanks to maps they copied from the Defenders of the Wing library. By nightfall, they should have reached their island.

Persuading Atali to let the Razorwhips go. Internally, his heart broke. The Wingmaidens had just as much of a bond to their dragons as the Defenders of the Wings did, if not more. Their sacred nesting grounds were vital to the survival of so many young Razorwhips. If not bonded with a human and protected from male Razorwhips, they were in far more danger.

The Hidden World didn't seem to exactly fit for the Razowhips. Male Razorwhips would surely be there, even if there were very few of them. Not to mention that the female Razorwhips were so protective of their young they would attack any sort of male presence near them.

Maybe Vanaheim? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he vetoed it. Still far too many male dragons, and the Grim Gnashers added an extra threat.

He knew that they couldn't possibly be allowed to stay with the Wingmaidens. As much as it hurt to take their dragons from them, it wouldn't be fair to the Berkians or Defenders of the Wing if the Wingmaidens were allowed to keep their Razorwhips.

His mind drifted to Heather and Windshear. Heather had not spoken to him since they had arrived at Defenders of the Wing, but he knew Astrid had. In fact, she was probably talking to Heather right now, seeing as Heather decided to accompany them to Wingmaiden Island, then to their next stop, Berserker Island.

He rolled over on the bed, shoving his face into the small pillow at the front of his cot. He groaned, the pillow muffling any sound.

He would ask Atali about the situation later, obviously. But he doubted that she would take kindly to his notion of releasing the dragons, even though she wouldn't be as harsh as Mala.

He heard Snotlout snore a loud shuffling snort, and he laughed into the pillow. He sat back up, slumping on the corner of his bed and feeling infinitely better now that he had organized his thoughts.

Was there anything else?

Oh. Right. That one little thing.

Astrid had seemed very hesitant to talk to him after her chat with Mala. He knew what it was about, because really, what could it be besides their relationship?

They'd both been interrogated by village members several times. They'd heard all the reason and arguments the villagers had made. They were about twenty-one, Astrid was already the General and Hiccup the Chief, they were in love, hard times, new heir, we don't want Snotlout, yadda-yadda.

He felt very stressed out about the whole thing. Was he supposed to walk up to Astrid and propose? Was he supposed to arrange a bride price first? Would that offend Astrid? How would he ask Mr. Hofferson?

He wondered if his father ever had to go through this to propose to Valka.

Speaking of Valka...

He rose up and exited the room. Once outside, he softly walked to the girl's room, tapping on the door. He heard a soft accented voice reply, "Who is it?" Definitely his mom.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, mom? Is it just you?"

The door opened, and his mother smiled at him from inside. "Yes, Hiccup. What is it?" She ushered him inside and insisted he sit down.

He coughed uncomfortably. "Can.. you tell me about how Dad proposed to you?"

Valka's eyebrows shot up. Her soft green eyes were wide, and she seemed ready to break out in laughter or a huge grin. "Well, oh my. Such a long time ago. Well, imagine this."

He nodded as she continued. "Thirty or something years ago, maybe even less, I can't remember. But your father and I were courting, and had been for a few years. Pressure growing on us to get married, as Stoick's father was growing old. The village was scared of anything happening to him, and beseeched us to marry so they could be certain of a substantial future."

"We talked about it, of course. Not like we just avoided the topic. And you know what your father did? Said in a great stumbling speech that oh, he wanted to get married but he was scared of pressure and thought he didn't deserve me, and all sorts of things."

Hiccup laughed. "Dad, stumbling? Yeah, that does not sound like Stoick the Vast at all."

Valka shook her head mirthfully. "You'd be surprised how similar you two were, when both of you were around the same age. Yes, Stoick was a might taller and a smidgen- well more than a smidgen- bigger. But you were both clumsy, stammering fools." She laughed.

"Well anyway." She sat down across from Hiccup on another bed. "We were already engaged, but being engaged and actively looking for a wedding are two very different things. You can have a plan to become married, or you can plan to become married. Very different."

"But he proposed in the sweetest way possible." She laughed at the expression on Hiccup's face. "Yes, I just used the word sweet to describe Stoick. But he did, really. On a hilltop, in Berk. Got down one on knee, went though the incredibly nervous process of actually asking. And you know the rest."

He nodded, twisting his fingers nervously in his lap. "How- how much pressure was there?"

Valka shrugged. "Maybe four times a week we would hear someone talking about it. But even without the pressure, I know we would have eventually married."

He nodded again, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.

"Do you think he would be proud of hat I've done?"

Valka took her son's hands gently, stopping them from twiddling. She looked up to meet his eyes. "Of course."

"I just feel like- I've done so much in my time as Chief. I just don't know how much of it was good."

She reached up and ran a hand through his hair. "Everything you have done was for the best, and you know it. Being Chief isn't easy. But in a such a short time you have accomplished more than most can say."

He swallowed, then met Valka's eyes. "Thank you, Mom. Thank you."

Valka nodded. "Of course, anytime."

He stood up to leave, glancing back to offer a shaky smile before opening the door.

He walked up to the deck, wanting to breathe some fresh air again. He reached up to push the trapdoor open, and climbed onto the deck.

The wind hit him first, blowing him off balance for a second. He grabbed onto the nearest pole, then screwed his eyes up against the wind. He looked around, seeing the twins huddled in a corner where the wind wouldn't reach them. Their hair whipped furiously around their heads.

He released the pole and grabbed onto the railing. The wind had obviously picked up during the time he was belowdecks. Walking along the edge of the boat, he headed toward the back of the ship.

He saw Eret there, trying desperately to hold a map still and read it. Fishlegs was on his side, trying to make sense of it.

He hurried toward them, shaking his head to get rid of the strands in his eyes. "Are we still going in the right direction?"

Eret looked up. "You know what, I have absolutely no idea. The wind makes it impossible to see."

Fishlegs pointed to a dot on the horizon in front of them. "We think that might be it, considering that's the only island we can see."

Hiccup squinted toward the dot. It did seem to have the same formation as Wingmaiden Island. Even more so, Wingmaiden Island's borders were often plagued with storms. One of which he could sense coming now.

He pointed toward it, telling them, "That's our best shot. Go toward it!"

Eret handed off the map to Fishlegs, who rolled it tight while Eret jumped to the top of the sail. Pulling hard at a rope, the sail began to turn and the ship pointed toward the minute island on the horizon.

Hiccup sighed as the wind blew past his face, aiding them in reaching the island faster. The cold gusts of air no longer battered his face; instead they pulled his hair forward and probably made him look strange but he didn't mind.

Eret hopped down from the sail, calmly leaning against the railing. "So? Got a plan for once we get there?"

He groaned, running his hand through his hair in a fruitless attempt to calm it. "Something like what happened with Mala, but I honestly don't want to go through that again."

Eret scratched his head. "Aren't they those girls with dragons on their backs?"

Fishlegs nodded. "They train and take care of baby Razorwhips. And they are maidens. No males allowed to permanently stay there."

"Strange." Eret remarked. "I think my men and I may have sailed near here a few times, but never had we seen a Wingmaiden."

As they talked, they walked toward the front of the boat. Seeing Snotlout and Valka climb out of the trapdoor, he beckoned to them.

They reached the twins, who were leaning over the side of the boat, faces almost parallel to the water. Ruffnut looked up, her narrow face bright. "We're almost there!"

Snotlout rubbed his eyes. "Hwuagh? We are?" He squinted toward the growing island on the distance. "Hmm. We are."

Valka looked up, then glanced questioningly at Hiccup. "Any idea where the girls might be?"

Ruffnut leaped up, arms crossed. "Hey, watch it! Just because I look like Tuffnut does not mea-"

She broke off as Astrid jumped down behind her, scaring them. Heather jumped down a moment later, both grinning madly. Hiccup looked up to see Windshear flapping above them, then flying down to squeeze onto the deck.

Astrid's face was pink, and her azure eyes twinkled. She and Heather clapped their hands together.

Fishlegs stared. "Where have you guys been? You left us to suffer in the wind!"

Heather smirked. "Oh, it's not like we could fit you all into Windshear. But we were against the wind for some time too."

Astrid joined in. "We just flew higher until we were above the wind."

Hiccup winced briefly. He couldn't deny that he was jealous with pangs of longing. Astrid had gotten to ride a dragon again, had gotten to feel the sky and wind battling against her. Had felt free, in control against the elements.

He opened his mouth to ask if they had seen the island from up above, but was sharply cut off as a voice sounded from above.

"Whoever you are, you are harboring a Razowhip. Let it go immediately, or- Hiccup?"

He tilted his head up and grinned as he saw Atali and Minden fly down. They softly touched down, their eyes widening as they took in the many people.

Atali spoke first. "Hiccup, what are you doing here? And on a ship? And who are these people?"

He turned to face them, self-consciously smoothing his hair. "Atali! It's great to see you again. Umm," He internally sighed. "We're here on a matter of... urgent business."

Minden stepped forward. "What is it? Krogan?" Hiccup noticed Snotlout blushing when he saw Minden, and slightly turn away. "It's not Krogan. But, this would be better explained somewhere different. Would you allow us to dock on your islan-"

Atali cut him off. "Of course. Hiccup Haddock, you are always welcome here. Feel free to stay as long as you must." She nodded to Minden, who raised two fingers to her mouth and whistled. The long, shrill sound brought several other Wingmaidens from the sky, guarded and wary until they caught sight of Windshear and Hiccup.

Atali stepped closer. "Whatever you need to discuss, we will do it on our island." She furrowed her brow, looking among the ship. "I take it... you left your dragons behind?"

In response, Hiccup uncomfortably groaned. "Atali, it's... so much more complicated that than. I'm sorry, we should probably wait to tell you."

Minden stepped forward, an eyebrow raised but Atali cut her off. "It's fine, Minden. Get back to the island, and tell them to prepare for guests."

Minden looked as if she wanted to argue, but Atali sent a sharp glance her way and she was off. The other Wingmaidens landed on the deck, making the crew very crowded and very uncomfortable.

Atali smiled at Hiccup. "Apologies, she's still learning."

"Uh, what for?" Snotlout intervened.

Atali glanced at him. "She's learning, Snotlout, to walk in my footsteps. She's by far the best candidate to be my heir."

Snotlout looked up to where Minden was flying away, then turned away quickly. "Umm, okay." Valka spoke. "Are you the ones who sent the Bewilderbeast egg? And left it at the Lunar Rock?" Atali's eyes widened. "Yes. I assume you were the one who took it in?" When Valka nodded, Atali smiled at her. "I cannot thank you enough, for taking care of the Bewilderbeast. This is what our people have done for centuries, taking in baby dragons and raising them to be free and whole."

She looked uncomfortably behind her, at her baby Razorwhip. The small, metallic-blue dragon squawked happily at her. "Though I must admit, they have been rather... rambunctious lately. Several don't return until midnight, and even then they show signs of having traveled very, very far. Some won't eat, some try to escape."

Hiccup swallowed, his throat dry. "Wha.." he cleared his throat. "This is going to sound crazy, but do you think they could be.. following something?"

Atali shrugged. "We're not sure. We do know, that recently one adult Razorwhip flew away, toward the sun. She's not back, and while we do fear for her, it may be connected to following something."

Hiccup bit his lip.

"We have a lot to tell you."

They reached the Wingmaiden shore in maybe ten minutes or so. They had no dock, so they lashed their ship to a strong tree overlooking the sea.

Atali flew ahead, shouting out orders to the Wingmaidens. A few stayed behind to accompany them to the main village. One by one, the Berkians hopped off the ship to land onto the soft, grainy sand.

Walking to the village, Hiccup looked around. They were walking in a densely wooded area, with clearings and meadows scattered around. He saw Wingmaidens everywhere, generally looking very hassled as they shouted and chased down tiny Razorwhips.

Astrid walked beside him. She whispered, "Do you think the Razorwhips might be responding to Toothless?"

He shrugged. "It's a possibility." Seeing her look, he hastily amended, "I mean, yeah that's probably what's happening. When the Bewilderbeast called all dragons, back on Berserker Island, they came. It's probably the same thing here."

"Maybe this is happening other places too?"

"Wingmaiden Island is the farthest away from the Hidden World. So if Toothless's call reached all the way out here, it's probably gotten to other places."

They reached the end of the woods, where the trees began to thin out and their leafy boughs provided little shade. They stepped out a wooden pathway, and their eyes grew wide.

Their village had grown much larger, with several more huts and wooden walkways. Many layers of living area reached up, most accessible by stairs or by dragonback. Or, dragon-on-Wingmaiden-back.

Minden saw their expressions and smiled. "Yes, we have been working on expanding our buildings. It's been going very well—when the Razorwhips behave." She sighed as a baby ran across her feet, a stumbling Wingmaiden following it.

She gestured out toward two huts, on the very edge of the lowest layer. They were larger than most, though barely decorated and seemingly un-lived in. "These are available for you all, and you may stay here as long as you wish. Feel free to explore our island, and all the things we have to do."

Tuffnut and Ruffnut perked up. "Hey, Do you guys still have that awesome boar pit?"

Minden nodded, then squeaked as they ran past in pursuit of the muddy pit. She took off after them, yelling, "Be careful! It's not ready for boars yet!"

Hiccup laughed as he watched her fly after the twins. "She'll have her hands full with them."

Fishlegs turned toward Hiccup. "What do you want us to do?"

He held a hand out to the village. "Whatever you want. You heard what Minden said. We'll sort out the important stuff later."

Eret hesitantly headed toward a random path, unsure of where to go, when Snotlout grabbed his arm and jerked him towards a cliff. "Cmon, Eret, I have got to show you where I jumped off a cliff! I bet you wouldn't ever do that." They raced off to the waterfall.

Fishlegs and Valka were already deep in discussion about the Razorwhips, Fishlegs eagerly grabbing the chance to show off his dragon knowledge.

Astrid placed a hand on his arm. "Are you sure you want to leave all the 'important stuff' until later?"

He pressed a hand to his eyes. "They can. I still have a lot to figure out."

She took his hand from his face. "Do you need some help?"

Hiccup looked gratefully at her. "Sure."

They left Fishlegs and Valka behind, going into one of the dark huts. Astrid walked along the perimeter, opening windows to let light in.

Hiccup sat on one of the straw beds. "Do you think Atali would need as much convincing as Mala?"

Astrid shrugged and sat on the bed opposite him. "Honestly, if it didn't involve dragons and their village, I would say no. Atali's more relaxed than Mala. But since it does involve their dragon and the future of their villages, I'm saying yes. The Wingmaiden's job to protect the Razorwhips is just as important as the Great Protector protecting the Defenders of the Wing."

"Well, now we have significant evidence of the dragons needing to go to the Hidden World. They're responding to the alpha's call."

"That presents it's own problems, though. We don't know if they even could get to the Hidden World safely, none of these dragons have ever been there. And they're babies!"

Hiccup opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when he heard a sharp squeak and felt a burst of flame narrowly miss his head. He ducked down, crashing to the floor. Facing upwards, he saw a purple and green Terrible Terror fly past with a smirk on its face and a scroll in it's claws.

Astrid held her arm out, for the Terror to settle on it. She shook with laughter, barely suppressing it when she saw Hiccup roll his eyes at her. He scrambled up, brushing himself off. Ignoring Astrid's giggles, he took the tightly rolled scroll from the Terror.

Astrid kept an eye on him, waiting eagerly for the news as she stroked the Terror, now comfortable sitting on her lap.

He unrolled the parchment, recognizing Gobber's handwriting at once. The shaky, large letters were on every inch of the papers, almost indecipherable. Luckily, Hiccup had a lot of experience reading Gobber's writing.

Astrid leaned forward. "Who's it from?"

He showed her the paper. "Gobber." He read over the letter, wincing at spelling and grammar mistakes.

deer hiccup, youv got to come bak. i cant control these crazy viking. wild dragens everywere. like old deys. village need you. other tribes keep coming four help. but your not here. khaos. danger, kid almost fel oph klif, he ok now.

com back soon gobber

Astrid laughed as she read through the letter, then stopped as she let the meaning sink in. She stared at Hiccup. "He needs you to come back?"

He stared at the message. "Apparently so."

He was silent as he went through their current situation. Could he afford to go back? Could their mission really be so short-lived?  
Seeing his hesitation, Astrid took the paper and read through it once more. "Do you think we should go back?"

He helplessly shrugged. "I... don't know. We came out here to convince the other tribes and villages, and we've only gotten to the second one. And they're showing signs of being affected by Toothless. But a child almost died."

Astrid gave him back the letter. "Maybe Gobber was right from the beginning. I... don't want to say this, but we may have to go back."

Seeing Hiccup look morosely back at her, she continued. "Look, I want to visit everyone too. The Edge, the Outcasts, the Berserkers. But sometimes-"

Hiccup finished her sentence for her. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. But I guess we should change that to the needs of your own people outweigh the needs of the others."

He breathed out a long, heavy sigh. Was this what being Chief truly was like? He was never put against a situation like this; the first year of his Chiefing had mostly been reckless dragon rescues and far-fetched ideas to expand the ever-growing dragon population of Berk.

But almost never were foreign affairs in the mix. He'd dealt with them before, but he had never been the cause of trouble and unrest in the other islands. And when he had tried to fix it, to settle matters overseas, he had neglected his own.

Astrid twisted her fingers in her lap, waiting for Hiccup to say something. He had his head in his hands, threading his tangled hair through his fingers.

Her heart turned at how lost he looked. She crossed over to sit next to him, and gently took one of his hands from his head and entwined their fingers.

Astrid wasn't a very gentle or caring person to most. She was a shield maiden, the toughest girl on Berk, and the best fighter of their generation. When she was younger, she would revolt against any kind of affection shown to her that wasn't from her parents. She believed that love was foolish, and would get in the way of her training.

But as she grew older and saw more of the world, she grew slightly softer. Especially to Hiccup. And especially not to Snotlout. But Hiccup would always be the one she could show the other side of her with.

He didn't look up, but squeezed her hand and let his arm hang limply, held up by hers.

She clasped his hand with hers. "Hiccup." When he looked up at her, she went on. "Whatever you're feeling right now, whatever you're thinking, you cannot blame yourself for any of it."

He shook his head. "How- how can I not? I abandoned my village when it was the worst time, a kid almost died, we're stuck on an island the farthest away from New Berk, and I've got a mess of things I have to do for the Berserkers, we have to help the Defenders of the Wing, we'll probably have to relocate the Razorwhips but I don't know how-"

Astrid stopped him. "Maybe you've made some bad decisions. But I told you, a long time ago, that when you can't make the right decision, you can't thinking about what you could've done. What's important is that you learn from the past so you can teach your future."

Hiccup straightened up, running a hand briefly over his face before facing Astrid. "I- how-" He took a deep breath, trying to settle the churning emotions inside him. "Thank you."

Astrid smiled. "So, what's our plan?"

He rolled up the scroll and stuffed it in a pocket. "We're going back to Berk."

After the Terror had been taken care of, fed morsels of cod and appropriately rested from the long journey, Hiccup had written a letter in response to Gobber. He made sure Gobber knew what to do with neighboring villages and wild dragons. Polite dismissals, herding stray dragons with bait, etc.

He also made sure Berk would know he would be coming back soon. At most, he would be gone another week.

Astrid wrote a side note, with additions and ideas for rebuilding the villages. Hiccup was glad he had her write more afterwards, for when he read her writing he realized how much he'd accidentally left out.

He was just tying the scroll to the Terror's leg when Snotlout and Eret burst into the hut. Startled, Hiccup jumped and accidentally elbowed Astrid.

She glared at him, and thankfully moved her glare to Snotlout and Eret. "Do you have to barge in like that?"

Snotlout wiggled his eyebrows. "Why? It's not like we're interrupting- hey! What's he doing with a Terror?"

Hiccup straightened up with an apologetic glance to Astrid. "I'm sending a T-Mail to Berk."

Eret frowned. "Any news?"

Hiccup took in their soaked clothes and crazed hair. "Umm, yeah. But what happened to you guys?"

Eret glanced down, and pointed an accusing finger to Snotlout. "He made me go cliff diving. Said he made it through once before, but I doubt it. I had to push him before he went. But don't change the subject, what's the news?"

Astrid put her hand on her hip and stared at Hiccup, waiting for his answer. He sighed and spoke. "We have to go back to Berk."

Snotlout gaped. "What?"

He stood up straighter. "I just got a Terror mail from Gobber. Didn't exactly go into detail, but things aren't going well there."

Snotlout snorted. "It's Gobber! Cmon, it'll be fine. We got more places to go to!"

Something flared inside of Hiccup, and he glared at Snotlout. "We left our village when they needed us most. There is chaos there, and a child almost died." He saw Snotlout's face whiten.

Eret was wringing out his hair. "Are we going back right now?"

Hiccup shook his head. "We need to talk to Atali first. Not to mention they're going to need our help too, if they agree to let the Razorwhips go."

Astrid asked, "When are we going to talk to her? We're going to need to soon if we want to get back to Berk."

Hiccup looked at Eret. "Can you guys get everyone? I'm going to have to tell them, then we'll all talk with Atali."

Snotlout shoved the towel toward Eret and dashed through the door. "Hah! Catch up, son of Eret!"

Eret rolled his eyes. He muttered, "He's not going to get very far, being so short." He tossed the towel aside and calmly strode out the door.

Hiccup turned toward Astrid and said, "Can you get Atali? But not now, in a few minutes. I don't want her to have to wait for everyone."

Astrid nodded. "Are you ready? This might be as hard as it was for the Defenders of the Wing."

Hiccup sighed. "It's probably going to be. I don't think we understood how difficult it would be to actually convince them to release their dragons. Terror mail is one thing, but this?"

Astrid shook her head. "Atali is more level-headed than Mala. But you're right, it will be hard." She hesitated, and started walking toward the door. "Remember, just keep moving forward. This is going to be over someday, but the only way we'll get there is if we keep going."

She smiled in farewell, and closed the door behind her in pursuit of Atali.

Hiccup crossed his arms, now alone in the room. While feeling extremely overburdened by what was to come, he also felt a deep sense of thankfulness for Astrid.

About half an hour later, Hiccup stood in front of Eret, Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, Valka, Snotlout, and Astrid. He was beside Atali, with Minden and several other Wingmaidens behind them.

He had told of his story, he had told them of the hardship and struggles since he had seen them last. Drago, Grimmel, Toothless. And finally, he had gotten to the part he dreaded most, asking them, to release their dragons.

He now stood in front of them all, awaiting Atali's decision. Uncomfortable silence filled the air, he felt that if he moved he would be moving through slow pudding.

Her eyes were steely, examining him as he tried to stare back. The Wingmaidens behind her whispered anxiously, some cradling their baby Razorwhips while others straight on glared at him.

She tightened her grip on her spear, and spoke in halting, dreadful words. "You ask us to let our dragons go?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes. Atali, it's for the good-"

She cut him off abruptly. "I understand. And I can see your reasoning."

She stood stationary for a few agonizing seconds more, then turned to whisper to Minden. He saw Minden's eyes widen, and stare questioningly at Atali. She shook her head in response, and they whispered more frantically.

Hiccup hated every second of it. He knew this was more than a Chiefly conference, this was one Chief asking another of a great deed, a favor even. He hated the feeling of her being in power, of feeling like a young boy being punished.

She turned back to him. "If we decide to go along with your idea, do you promise that our Razorwhips will be safe?"

Hiccup tried to nod as affirmatively as he could. "Yes. They should be able to instinctively know the way."

Atali shook her head. "I don't want to hear any 'shoulds'. I want cemented ideas, not half-hoped ones."

Hiccup tensed. "Atali, we can't wait for something to happen, either. You know how your Razorwhips are acting. As hard as it is to say this, they're not happy here."

She narrowed her eyes, then said, "I offer a compromise. I send two Wingmaidens, therefore two baby Razorwhips, and five grown Razorwhips. They will attempt to reach this Hidden World. If they succeed, and it is a habitable situation, then the Razorwhips will all leave."

Astrid glanced at Hiccup, obviously wondering if this was a good idea. It was the best offer they would get, but it still had its risks.

Atali scanned the faces of her Wingmaidens, then turned back to Hiccup. "If they do not succeed, then all Razorwhips will stay here."

He considered the implications of the plan. He was sure they would reach the Hidden World, with five grown dragons following it, but it would also be revealing the location of the Hidden World to even more humans. Yet he knew two more was not very many, and the Wingmaidens were reliable people. "The Hidden World is a sacred place. Maybe even more then Vanaheim. If your Wingmaidens accompany the Razorwhips there, they cannot be allowed inside. It's too dangerous."

Minden stepped forward. "How are we supposed to know if it is a habitable place if we are not allowed to go inside?"

Atali raised her hand, and Minden stepped back uncertainly, keeping an eye on Hiccup. "We agree to your conditions."

Almost letting out a relieved sigh, Hiccup stifled it. "Thank you."

Behind Atali, about four or five Wingmaidens were staring open-mouthed at Atali, while a few more, Minden included, were nodding sadly. Atali herself ignored them for the time being. "Hiccup, this isn't a matter of thanks."

He stiffened, realizing his mistake too late. He relaxed as she continued. "But we will do this, because I see it is the right thing, and because you have proven to be a trustable ally."

She then turned around, and was immediately surrounded by frantic Wingmaidens, cradling their Razorwhips protectively. Hiccup winced in sympathy, then winced in pain Snotlout shoved him from behind. "Snotlout! What is your problem?"

Standing on tiptoe, Snotlout glared at him. "How could you let the Wingmaidens go to the Hidden World? You didn't let the Defenders of the Wing! What-"

He stopped as Astrid elbowed him. "Snotlout, he has his reasons."

In return, he snorted at Astrid. "Well, what are they? Huh, Hiccup?"

He glowered at Snotlout, wanting to unapologetically shut him up. Seeing his look, Snotlout's eyes widened and he slightly cowered. "I just mean.. it doesn't make sense."

Valka stepped between them. "He'll tell us later. Don't badger him."

Fishlegs tapped Hiccup on the shoulder. "Eret said you were planning to go back to Berk? Like, soon?"

Hiccup nodded. "I got a letter from Berk. Things aren't looking too good."

Fishlegs furrowed his brow and shifted uncomfortably. "Didn't we have to, go to the Berserkers? And, Outcasts?"

Hiccup silently took the letter from his pocket and handed it to Fishlegs. As he finished reading, he stared at Hiccup. His voice quiet, he said, "We need to get back."

Atali approached his side. "Get back where?"

Hiccup responded, "Berk. There are... issues that need to be taken care of."

Tilting her head, Atali asked, "When will you be heading back?"

He guessed it was very late, as it was getting darker and darker. "We don't want to trouble you, but the soonest we could leave is tomorrow."

Atali nodded. "Our invitation still stands. We are happy to have you stay here as long as you need. Though I must say, be careful. Our Wingmaidens have reported rogue dragon hunters on the loose."

Astrid questioned, "Dragon hunters? Like the ones that were with Viggo?"

Atali shook her head. "No. These are freelance dragon hunters, who work for no one but themselves. We've encountered them several times before, but recently they have become reckless. About thirty of them. Brutal."

Tuffnut waved a hand lazily. "Ahh, they won't mess with us. We've got-" He broke off as he realized what he was going to say, and his voice broke. "Never mind."

Ruffnut put an arm around his shoulders. "They won't bother us because we don't have... you know. They're looking for them, so.. we should be fine." She sniffed. "Ouch. That hurt."

Fishlegs blinked hurriedly, then turned to a hut. "Umm, I'm going to excuse myself, if you don't mind."

Hiccup nodded. "See you later."

Atali gestured toward the center of their village. "We have prepared dinner, if you would like to eat."

Valka nodded gratefully. "Thank you. And what was that you were telling me about the Razorwhip?"

Atali started walking toward the fireplace with Valka by her side. "Oh, yes. Did you know their inner leg scales..." Her voice trailed off as they walked away.

Hiccup and Astrid began to follow. He asked, "Do you think I made the right decision?"

She laced her fingers with his. "Do you?"

He gripped her hand tighter. "For once, yes."

She smiled. "Then yes, I think you have."

They walked in silence toward the rich smell of smoke and frying fish, then he asked her a question that had been at the back of his mind ever since they had started the journey. "On the way back to New Berk," He bit his tongue before rushing on. "Maybe, just maybe could we stop by Berk? Old Berk, I mean. Just for an hour?"

Astrid faced him, her face illuminated by the firelight. Her eyes shone, with sadness and thoughtfulness. "It is on the way back.. and it would be amazing to..." She nodded. "If you'd like to."

He brightened at the prospect of seeing his old home again, even if it had been scarcely a week since he had seen it last. "Then we'll stop by Berk." He kissed her cheek, then led her to sit on a log by the fire. They sat, surrounded by the companionable sound of chatter and hissing flames.

And for once, he felt like he had a plan, had a path, and knew where he would go.

A pair of gleaming brown eyes looked out upon a dry beach. The brown murky water had long dried out, turning it into a desert land. Mountains stretched in the distance, and the night sky fell beyond the horizon.

A young, feminine voice broke the eerie silence. "Lower ranks. Search for any remains."

A tall, slim figure stood on a sand dune, with a spear by its side. When it turned, the woman's face still held the features of youth, yet she was looked ages old. Round nose, sharp observant eyes, thin mouth, the combination of features looked strange and alien on her face.

Several robust men ran past her, into the dusty sand. She stood solitary, watching as they scurried around.

A short man, with wild hair and scarred clothes ran up to stop beside her. "Orion. They said they didn't find anything the first time."

She shook her head. "I have heard you say that five times. If I thought of it any importance I would have said it the first time."

The man ducked down, his foot slipping. "I'm sorry. But they also said it was of those dragon riders."

She hissed, not wanting to be reminded of them. "I know. Who else could do this?"

She ground her spear in the sand until it sunk deep down. "I thought we were rid of them."

The man froze, not wanting to risk moving until she gave an order. He looked back at the ship moored far away, at the edge of the island.

The woman yanked her spear from the sand and pointed it toward the ship. "We leave now. If they won't rid themselves," She let out a heavy breath. "We'll do it for them."

Thank you for reading! Have a great day. ~ScribeOfTheLegends 


	6. Chapter 6: Orion Rising

After The War Ch6

Warning: This chapter contains very brief mentions of blood and violence. Rated T.

The dreary ship slowly churned in the sea, gliding over the murky brown water. The night sky was beginning to lighten and the slightest shades of light blue overtook the horizon.

Men and women alike manned the deck of the ship, calling to each other in high and low voices. Ropes were pulled, oars were extended, and chains were tossed into piles, ready for use at any moment.

High above them all, an insignia consisting of a constellation glimmered on the sail. It billowed in the growing wind, as the ship moved faster and faster toward the coming daylight.

Inside a large room at the back of the ship, a woman stood commanding the attention of several people.

Again, the room was a mix of men and women alike. They sat or stood near the edges of the room, all eyes on their leader. Their leader stood in front of a map, occasionally tapping it or asking a question.

"And you're sure we didn't find anything on this island?"

A man standing near her nodded. "Yep. Searched far and high but nothing out of the ordinary."

The woman faced him, examining the growing anxiety on his face. "Send a crew of five there, on the second mission ship. It should be back from the mission to the outer islands. I want three from higher ranks and two from lower. And tell them to search underground."

The man swallowed. "Orion, we already searched there-"

She tapped the map with one long finger. "It's called Screaming Death Island for a reason. Go tell them, I want the mission ship back in five days. We'll be at the new base by then, regroup there."

The man nodded and scurried off, seemingly relieved to be out of the tension-filled room. The door swung shut and footsteps could be heard pounding away.

Whispers filled the room. A group of three talked among themselves at Orion's words. A base? They didn't have a base, but commanded all missions from their ship.

Orion heard him go with an ever-growing sense of annoyance, then turned to her senior officers who had just been whispering to each other. "In five days, we will be at our new base. The location is, uncannily enough, very familiar to that Chief of Berk. We've got a message for him."

A young woman stepped forward, although a man at her side frantically shook her head and beckoned her back. She shook off his pleading and in a strong high voice, asked, "Ma'am, they've heard rumors the Chief is on Wingmaiden Island. And all of his best fighters." Orion curiously narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me ma'am. My name is Orion. Where did you hear this?"

The girl looked at the floor, then lifted her head back to meet Orion's unblinking eyes. "A few men from the higher ranks, they said they saw one of his fighters with a girl flying a full-grown Razorwhip."

Orion snapped her fingers and the girl looked up expectantly. "Get me those men." The girl nodded and hurried off. The man who had dissuaded her from talking to Orion shook his head slowly.

Orion looked over the rest of them, and her dark eyes landed on a stringy man huddled next to her door as if unsure he was supposed to be there. "Fledger." She barked. The man snapped to attention and stared at her as everyone twisted to see him. "Did you get the Zippleback gas?"

The man nodded hesitantly, his hand groping the inside of his coat. He produced a tightly corked bottle, with seemingly nothing in it yet he still held it cautiously.

Orion stalked over and snatched the bottle with one hand. The man withdrew against the wall as she examined it. Nodding in satisfaction, she flicked her free hand toward the door. "I'm going to need Nadder spikes and research on Shockjaws by next week. You are dismissed, Fledger."

The man nodded and awkwardly stepped out of the room. Orion watched him go, and put the bottle on a desk next to the map. She scanned the room. "Loher. Drop by the village island tomorrow with mission ship four. Riga from lower ranks is with child and we need to drop off two children from higher ranks."

"Yes, Orion. Three elderly men from higher ranks are also asking to be dropped off at the village."

Orion waved a hand at her. "Do what you need to. You're dismissed. Actually, everyone dismissed."

The men and women got up from chairs and walked out the door, chatting and laughing. Another man tried to exit, but Orion reached out and held him back. "Not you, Dafk."

He nodded grimly and retreated to the corner of the room. Then, four men came through the door. They smelled of fish and salt, and were still gripping axes and ropes.

Orion acknowledged them with a nod. "You saw a Razorwhip?"

One of the men nodded earnestly. "Yes, Orion. Full grown, by the looks of it. Had two people on it's back, both women. One looked much like a Wingmaiden yet none of those maidens looked like her."

Orion leaned forward. "Describe both women."

The man shrugged. "Pretty, one with dark hair in a braid. Looked familiar. The othe-"

He was cut off by Orion turned sharply around and lunging forward. "Did she, by any chance, have green eyes? Razorwhip scale outfit?"

The man nodded hesitantly, then jumped back as Orion hissed. "Imbecile! That was the Berserker Chief! Heather!"

The man's eyes widened. "I'm sorry-"

"Whatever. Men. Ugh, the other one?"

He nodded, looking to his friends for backup. One of them piped up, "Blonde hair. Actually very pretty. Blue eyes, had an axe on her back. Saw them from a scope."

Orion's eyes glinted and she grinned. "Blonde? Friends with the Heather girl?"

She cast a cunning smile toward the men, and they shrunk back, unsure of what to do. "Boys, you just gave me an instrumental piece in this war."

She turned to her map. "You four are going to go to whoever is manning the ship, and tell them steer us to Wingmaiden Island."

The man in the corner, Dafk, stood up. "Why Wingmaiden Island? We've had enough trouble with those maidens-"

Orion rolled her eyes. "Do I need to put it together for you? The Chief of Berk is there. And it's no secret his best fighters are there. If we can take them out, we've already captured his village."

Dafk scratched his head. "What about the blonde one? Why did you say she was instrumental."

Orion smirked. "Oh, you'll see. This Chief's made another mistake.

Surrounding himself with the ones he loves most."

Snotlout lay on a cliff top, stretched out as he watched the Wingmaidens fly around. He was still wet from plunging into the waterfall a few dozen times with Eret and Tuffnut. His hair matted to his face and he lay to dry off in the sun.

Eret and Tuff had gone off to the boat pits, he was sure of it, based on Tuff's eagerness to teach Eret boar wrestling. Ruffnut had made the decision to go with them, stupidly enough.

He sat up, wincing at the squelching sound. He sat observing the Wingmaidens.

Ooh, that one just took a fall. Those rascally dragons. Oop-yep, that's a tree. He laughed at them trying to reign in the crazy dragons.

Suddenly, he heard a pattering behind him. He twisted around, then started when he saw Minden. "Oh, Oh! Uh, hey Minden! Watcha been up to?" She smiled and sat down on the soft brown grass next to him. "You know. These dragons are hard to control now." She gave her Razorwhip an affectionate pat. She sighed. "I guess though now it won't matter when they're gone."

Snotlout nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. I thought Hooky and I would... always be together."

She lifted her Razorwhip off her back and cuddled it. "I really don't know about this. I feel like Atali has got this all planned out, but a island without dragons?"

She set her dragon down. "We've always lived with dragons. There have never been Wingmaidens without dragons. But it's out of our hands now, isn't it?"

Snotlout stared at the baby dragon. "Yeah. Up to the leaders. And now they've gone and decided that Razorwhips and Wingmaidens should be let in the Hidden World, even though they wouldn't let the Defenders of the Wing in. And the baby Razorwhips are in extreme danger because like half of the Hidden World is male."

She nodded. "They've already planned out the trip to the Hidden World for later today. They want it to be as soon as possible."

"Oh. Well, hopefully something works out."

The baby dragon nipped her hand, and she stroked it. "Yeah. I've got to rest this little guy before the trip."

Snotlout stared at her. "You're going?"

She shrugged. "Atali wants me to be the next leader, as scary as it sounds. So she wanted me to have the experience." She paused. "What's Hiccup doing about it all?"

Snotlout shrugged. "Umm, I feel like he's really stressed. The last time this happened, he was either in a relationship with Astrid, or gambling." Seeing her blank look, he amended, "It's a looong story."

"Okay. Y'know, sometimes I feel like he and I are in the same position. Even though he is already Chief, we're both still learning. Hiccup just doesn't have anyone to teach him anymore, now that Stoick died."

Snotlout leaned forward and stared off the cliff side. "Wow. Guess that is true."

They sat in silence for a few more moments, each uncomfortably aware of the other's presence. Snotlout snuck a look at Minden petting her dragon softly, and a wave of emotion quite unfamiliar hit him.

"Are you gonna miss your dragon?"

Minden looked down at her dragon and sadly nodded. "I do have to go through this every Grand Transition, so I suppose it's not if I'm going to miss my dragon, even though I will. I'm going to miss all the dragons."

Snotlout nodded, then opened his mouth to ask another question when a horn sounded. Minden jumped up, looking apologetic. "Snotlout, I'm so sorry. I have to report to Atali for the trip." She lifted her dragon onto her back. "I'll see you sometime soon, hopefully."

Snotlout replied softly, "Yeah. Umm, sometime soon?" He watched as Minden hurriedly flew into the village, and sat back down on the cliff. He watched other Wingmaidens go and fly toward their mission, and he couldn't help thinking that something had just ended, and a whole other thing had just begun. "Bye, Minden." He said softly. "See you sometime."

A purple Terrible Terror weaved through the forest, ducking to avoid branches and leaves. The Terror held a scroll tightly strung to its leg, slightly lopsided from the weight.

The Terror zipped out of the forest to see bright sunlight accompanied by several Razorwhips. It squeaked, then dashed upwards.

It looked around, and saw a village clustered in a clearing. It flapped toward it, looking for one tall, brown-haired male with one leg.

A small hut at the edge attracted its attention, he sniffed eagerly and smelled the scent of metal and smoke. It beelined toward the scent, moving around to the back of the hut to see the male around various parts of metal and a stove of fire.

The man jumped and turned toward the Terror, before seeing it. "Oh, thank gods. Just a dragon." He brushed the small pieces of metal behind him, nevertheless, and shoved a few Nadder spikes behind him.

Hiccup walked curiously to the Terror. "Now, let's see what we have here." He watched as the Terror lifted it's leg to show him the scroll, then flew around the makeshift forge earnestly. It nudged a few appliances before settling down for a rest.

Hiccup broke the seal on the scroll, then read it hesitantly. It was clearly from Mala, and he was glad it held good news.

They had moved out of their island, everything packed up and away. An island near the Edge had caught their attention, and they had promptly moved on it. It had no active volcanoes, no dangerous dragons, and relative safety from enemies.

They asked if Hiccup would be returning to the Edge anytime soon, for they also had strange concerns. A large battle ship had recently been seen circling around the Edge, and then several people exploring the buildings, and entering them. They didn't recognize any of them, nor the strange symbol on their sail.

He laid the paper flat on the table and wiped away bits of ash and metal. Getting a fresh piece of paper and a pencil, he scratched out a reply.

They had known that when they left the Edge, sailors would see the abandoned island and possibly explore it. They hadn't left anything important (though they had taken some unnecessary things, cough cough, Snotlout's S), and it wouldn't be a real danger. Still, it seemed strange a big ship, a war ship, would show any interest in the Edge.

He wrote that he was glad they had settled in a safe place, but also wrote of a favor. If they could keep an eye on the strange sailors and tell him if anyone else happened, he would be grateful.

No, he decided, they would not return to the Edge after all. Pressing matters had to be attended to in New Berk, they had a very short rest on Berk planned, and they would maybe see the Edge in the distance.

He signed the letter, and tied it back to the Terror's leg. The little dragon awoke, and hopped up. It flew into the sky, zipping here and there until it flew out of sight.

Hiccup leaned back onto the table and surveyed his work. As soon as everyone had exited the two huts and went their separate ways, he had set up a hidden, makeshift forge. He had only needed a small amount of metal, and a few Nadder spikes to experiment with.  
He looked at the sun; he would have to finish his project quickly, before noon, when they were scheduled to leave.

He cleaned up a few hammers and welding tools, and packed them away into crates that would be stored in the ship.  
In the middle of his table sat a small, almost unnoticeable band of metal. Next to it, an even smaller blue-yellow gem shone.

He picked up the band and examined it, he didn't know the exact size he would need for it. He gulped, imagining what would happen if it wasn't the right size.

He had made his mind up, quickly, yesterday night. He wanted to be married to Astrid, he wanted to propose as soon as he could, no matter how nervous he was thinking about it. Even though they had already been betrothed to each other for two years, there was a clear difference between being betrothed, and actively looking forward to a wedding.

He had to admit the thought made him giddy. He had had a crush on Astrid for years, before he was ten for sure. Somehow, after eleven years, they were dating, and constantly on pressure to become a married couple.

The band could use some smoothing over; it was made of some silver he had obtained through the Northern Markets years ago. At the time, he had been hoping to use it for an invention, though now it was being used for a completely different purpose.

The small gem next to it could also use smoothing, and shining for sure. He had painstakingly carved out a jewel shape out of a Nadder spike that he was sure had belonged to Stormfly. It had the same blue-yellow shades, and had been found stuffed into a crate at the back of their ship.

He planned to mold them together somehow later, when the band was complete and the gem was adequately prepared. Now, though, he had no time. He packed up the rest of the tools and shoved them into crates, and then took the ring and carefully stored it inside one of his many pockets.

He heard a horn sound near by, and looked up to see several Wingmaidens flying to the sound. He knew they were preparing for the trip to the Hidden World. But for some reason, a familiar full grown Razorwhip flew with them, and understanding suddenly knotted in his heart.

Fishlegs had been on the edge of the island, looking for the flora and fauna he knew were native to this island. He had crossed the path to the sea and was instead venturing to the wilderness, exclaiming in surprise every time he found some of his favorite plants.

Suddenly, he came to a small crack in the ground where a mound of bauxite rested. He brightened, thinking of Meatlug, but then instantly dimmed when he remembered that his Meatlug and Fishmeat would never see this. Fishmeat hadn't ever seen bauxite, as it couldn't be found on Berk or New Berk.

He looked up when he heard a loud flapping and gusts of wind pummeled the air next to him. Above the trees, he saw Heather riding Windshear. She slowly came down, and hopped off as Windshear landed.

"Fishlegs!" She greeted him. She took a closer look at the rocks in front of him. "Bauxite?"

He nodded. "Yeah! Finally found some out here. I haven't seen any in a while. Not since... you know."

"Yeah. Meatlug loved bauxite." She picked up a small stone, and tossed it around in her hand. "What do you think? About... the dragons having to leave."

Fishlegs sighed. "It felt like the right decision at the time. I mean, we had just been badly attacked because dragons... just aren't fit to live with us greedy, cruel humans until we can do something right."

She sat down, and Fishlegs copied her. "Does it still feel like the right decision?"

He shrugged and picked up a pebble. "It's hurting a lot of people, and everything is changing. Entire villages are moving, ways of life are completely turned around. But, in the middle of all of this, I guess it's the right thing to do in the end."

She smiled at him, finally meeting his gaze. "Thank you."

He smiled back, although confused. "For what?"

She leaned back onto her hands. "Everyone I've talked to so far either supports it, or hates the mere idea. But you're the only one who agrees with what I think. It's going to be pretty bad at first, and the idea is pretty... depressing to think about. But this is for the greater good."

He looked back at her. Her words meant something deeper, he could tell. "Are you saying..."

She sighed and wiped her hands off. Looking up at Windshear, she said, "I've been thinking about what Hiccup and Astrid have said. Windshear has been with me forever. She's my best friend. But I want to do what's right for her. It's not safe, she's already been through so much. While she's still here with me, she is in constant danger. I care about her too much for that."

Windshear tilted her gleaming head down so Heather could stroke her. "She's responding to the calls too. So we want her to be one of the five to leave today on the Wingmaiden trip."

Fishlegs stared up at Windshear. "Today? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "As soon as the horn sounds, she'll be off to the Hidden World. I want her to be safe, no matter how much I'll miss her."

He reached out a tentative hand to her shoulder, and was glad when she didn't pull away. "We all miss our dragons. I miss Meatlug so much, it hurts everyday. It really does."

She nodded, and her hand came up to his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you." He smiled, then felt a pant of sympathy when he saw her eyes well. "They should be sounding the horn soon."

They sat a few minutes more, in companionable silence. Windshear wound her tail around the two, and rested her head in between them. Heather leaned onto her, letting a stray tear fall off her cheek.

The horn sounded, it's deep blast unknowingly ripping two dear friends apart. Windshear lifted herself up in a show of majestic beauty, and Heather stood up with her. For a second, Heather wrapped her arms around her neck, and tears began to fall onto her shining scales. They stayed like that for a moment, then Windshear slowly raised her wings. Heather nodded brokenly, stepping away.

Windshear soared up, a gleaming masterpiece in the sky. She gave Heather one last adoring look, then turned to fly toward the village.

They saw her fly up, sunlight glinting off her. She flew in a blinding spotlight that never left her.

Heather pressed a hand to her mouth, tears beginning to fall. Fishlegs felt his own eyes dampen, and moved forward to rest a hand on her shoulder. She gripped it with her free hand, as they both watched the majestic dragon fly away.

Astrid bent down to pick up a heavy crate, settling it into her arms before walking back to the ship. Valka followed her, carrying another wooden crate. They skirted the edge of the dense forest and walked across the soft sand to the shore.

They reached the ship at the beach, and stacked them onto the sand next to the boat. As they lifted the heavy crates on top of one another, Astrid noticed that Valka was moving more stiffly. "Valka, are you okay?"

The older woman waved her hand dismissively, unconsciously smoothing the streaks of grey in her hair. "I'm fine, Astrid. I'm not a youngster like you, but I'll manage."

Astrid nodded, and they began the trek back to the huts, where some of the crates had been unpacked. "What do you think about the Wingmaidens going to the Hidden World?"

Valka shook her head. "I admit it isn't a perfect solution, but for now it's the best we could do. We mustn't let the Hidden World become general knowledge, or it defeats the entire purpose of 'hiding' the dragons there. It is much more risky for the Razorwhips though, since their young are vulnerable to male Razorwhips."

Astrid shielded her eyes from the burning sun. "I guess we shouldn't let Mala or Dagur know about this. I don't think they would be happy."

They reached the cool shade of the trees, and shortly arrived to the rest of the crates. Snotlout and the twins were already there, picking up a new set of crates. There was one left, and Astrid picked it up.

Tuffnut nudged Ruffnut with his shoulder. "Ah, remember when we were here and you became a Wingmaiden?"

She snorted in response. "For like two minutes. If being a Wingmaiden means being stuck on this island, even though it has an amazing boar pit and the coolest huts, it's not worth it."

Snotlout snickered. "Yeah, you weren't even capable of taking care of Wingnutt."

She rolled her eyes, saying, "Hey, so it was a team effort."

"How long were you at the Edge? Hiccup hasn't told me too much about that time," Valka asked curiously.

Snotlout shrugged. "Little more than a year, I guess. We left after Krogan and Johann were defeated."

"Yeah, even though we almost left it for good a couple times before that." Tuffnut remarked. "Remember the lava?"

Snotlout banged his head against the crate he held in his arms. "Hey, that burned my S!"

They reached the shore, and stacked the rest of the crates. Eret and Hiccup hopped off from the ship, and took the crates to be stored in the bottom layer. They climbed back up the railing and disappeared into the lower storage.

Astrid looked around, mentally counting everyone. "Where's Fishlegs?"

Everyone looked around before Fishlegs came running from the forest to them. "Oh, sorry!" He panted. "Lost track of time."

Hiccup reappeared from the railing, and smoothly hopped down onto the sand. Astrid noticed that he seemed much more energetic, now that he had gotten more sleep.

He brushed off his hands. "Okay! Atali will be coming here just to confirm everything. Right now, they should be finalizing everything for the trip."

Snotlout raised an eyebrow. "So do we just wait?"

He shrugged. "Guess so."

Snotlout plopped onto the ground and laid his head down. "Great, catch ya later." They rolled their eyes, then the twins also sat down and began to talk.

Fishlegs strolled over to them, partaking in their conversation. Astrid walked to Hiccup, who was leaning against the part of the ship that was lodged in the sand. "So back to Berk, huh? Are you excited?" She leaned against the boat next to him.

Hiccup nodded, his eyes sparkling. "I know that it's burnt down. That's—going to be horrible to see. But it's still Berk, just without buildings. Still where I grew up."

She smiled. "Where we all grew up. And made so many memories."

He gave her a smile, remembering some of those memories with her. He entwined their fingers, enjoying her company.

Fishlegs had broken off from the conversation with the twins to stare off into the distance. Ruffnut and Tuffnut talked for a few seconds before noticing Fishleg's squinting expression. They followed his gaze.

All three stood up, walking closer to the shore. Eret, Valka, and Snotlout stared after them. Snotlout yelled, "Where are ya guys going?"

Ruffnut turned back, pointing to the shoreline. "Look!"

Hiccup and Astrid's attention now caught, they too stared at the shore until they saw a curious dull object half on the sand, half drifting in the water.

Hiccup tugged Astrid toward it, and they all arrived around it. They could see that it was a dull green, almost brown bottle, made of what looked like glass.

Eret frowned. "Glass? It's hard to come by any round here, much less an entire bottle of it."

It was transparent, though oddly murky inside. It was tightly stopped by a wooden cork. As Hiccup crouched down to stare at it, he couldn't help feeling like something was wrong.

He looked up at them. "Should I..."

Fishlegs shrugged. "I mean, what harm would it do? It's a bottle."

Hiccup reached out and took it. It seemed to be empty at first, though when he shook it, a rattling could be heard. "I think there's something inside."

Snotlout gestured impatiently. "Well, open it."

Hiccup gripped the cork, though his insides seemed frozen, unsureness spreading throughout him.

He slowly tugged the tight cork out, and was sighing in relief when it was almost out. Just as he was about to open the bottle, Tuffnut and Ruffnut both shrieked. "Hiccup, WAIT!" They yelled.

But it was too late.

When he opened the bottle, it exploded in his face. He stumbled backwards, arms flying up to cover his face. A frightening bang had come from the bottle, and hissing noises still came around him.

Everyone had yelled in surprise, arms flying up to shield themselves. Hiccup sat on the sand, arms still covering his face.

He tried to move his arms, but he felt sharp pricks of intense pain. The glass shards had impaled his hands and part of his face. He felt pain burst out, felt pricks of blood appearing.

Astrid dashed over to him, taking his arms. "Hiccup! Oh my gods, are you okay?"

He tried to grunt out a reply, but to no avail. She examined his hands, hissing in sympathy, then she saw the glass shards stabbing his face. She gaped.

Hiccup tentatively opened his scrunched up eyes, wincing in pain when the skin on his face broke even further. He saw everyone had recoiled from the bottle, creating a wide open circle around it as they stared at Hiccup and Astrid. The remains of the bottle lay in shatters, and a piece of paper lay intact in the middle.

Astrid hurriedly unstrapped part of his sleeves, and rolled them up. The thick leather had blocked his arms from being pierced, but his hands were bleeding. His face was still dotted with pinpricks of blood. "Oh my gods, Hiccup. Don't move, don't move. No, don't try to speak."

Valka stepped around the shards to Hiccup. She dashed to Hiccup, being careful to avoid the glass remains. "Fishlegs! We need the medicine bag. Now!"

Fishlegs unstrapped a thick bag from his belt, opening it and handing it to Valka. She rummaged in it to extract a pair of thin tweezers. "Astrid, did any get in his eyes?"

She shook her head. "Just the lower side of his face, and hands." She took the tweezers and carefully took a minute shard of glass from his face. He hissed between his teeth, and screwed his eyes shut as she plucked out another shard.

Fishlegs looked queasy as he stared at Hiccup wincing in pain. "What WAS that?"

Tuffnut looked grim, and bent down to look at the shards. "Definitely Zippleback gas. Right, Ruff?"

She nodded, hand over her mouth. "Wow. Yeah, that's why we yelled. We couldn't see it because of the green of the bottle, but that was unmistakably Zipple gas."

Eret pointed a finger toward the piece of paper. "Then, why in the name of Thor did that not explode? It's completely fine!"

Tuffnut touched the paper, and shared a knowing look with Ruffnut. "Zippleback saliva."

Ruffnut nodded. "That paper is covered in Zipple spit. Protects from explosions."

Snotlout had a hand clenched on his stomach looking very queasy. "That paper is covered in spit so it survives, but the bottle explodes on whoever opens it."

Astrid had finished taking all the glass out of his face, and Hiccup let out a pent-up breath. He hissed, feeling the blood well up. His hands were shaking, glass still stabbing his hands. Astrid noticed his pain, and pressed a hasty yet calming kiss on his forehead. "You're okay, you're okay. It's just your hands now."

Valka gently used a wet towel to clean his face, and he desperately wanted to move. The pain never left, and he could now see that small red cuts were visible on his hands. He assumed the same had happened to his face.

Astrid finished taking care of his hands, and took a thin, damp bandage. She carefully wrapped his hands, and then took another bandage and applied it to the side of his face. He tried to speak, but it came out as an slightly intelligible grunt. "Astrid-"

She took his shoulders and gazed at him. "Does it still hurt?" She bit her lip, looking very anxious.

He tried to shake his head, but a groan of pain escaped him. "Help me get up."

She supported him, and he stumbled up. The others stared at him, partly scared. He walked carefully to the note, Astrid holding him up all the way. She picked up the note for him, as his hands were stiffly bandaged.

The note certainly felt as if covered in saliva, grossly catching the light. It was covered in neat, curly scripture. She read aloud, "Dear Berkians and Wingmaidens,"

"As the Wingmaidens are aware, my name is Orion. But for our ill-informed Berkians, I have a message for you. You see dragons as more than pets. You see them as intelligent creatures, capable of friendship. You treasure them.  
We see dragons as livestock. Why should they not be different than sheep, yaks, or cows? We are not dragon hunters. That would be like saying there are such things as sheep hunters.  
You have a plan to hide all your dragons. We are aware. But this is reducing our profits, our supplies, our sales. We will not let this go unnoticed.

Watch, for we will come."

She stared back up at the astounded faces surrounding her. Hiccup stared at the letter, then told her, "Get Atali."

Atali paced the deck of their ship, her head in one hand. A few select Wingmaidens who were not currently preparing for the trip stood behind her, whispering with worried expressions.

Hiccup had sunk into a chair brought up to the top level of their boat. Astrid stood next to him, offering silent yet strong support as she rested a hand on his shoulder. The rest of the gang stood behind them, talking among themselves.

Hiccup's face and hands still hurt, but not as strongly. He could speak adequately with little pain, and his skin appeared to slowly heal.

Inside, he was a mess. Guilt and pain mixed together in a violent storm, tainted with indecision. He should have been more wary of the strange bottle, he should have taken extra precautions.

He should have endeavored more to keep their plans a secret, only now did he realize what was on the line. A dragon "farmer", as they had described themselves, planned to seek vengeance for what Hiccup had done to whatever kind of business they had. They had briefly been informed of this persons actions against the Wingmaidens, but by the looks of it, they planned something far worse than what any Wingmaiden nor Berkain had expected.

Atali held the note in one hand, and then let it fall onto the deck where she glared at it. "Zippleback gas? And Zippleback saliva? Are you sure?"

Hiccup replied, "We're sure. We've had the twins and Fishlegs look at it, and even I can tell it's Zippleback."

She shook her head. "This means they practically milked a Zippleback for its saliva. Then brought the bottle-" She cut off abruptly, jerking her head up to scan the nearby seas and forest. Her eyes trailed across the surrounding area.

Snotlout's eyebrows creased together. "Uh, whatcha doing?"

She made a sharp snap with her fingers toward her Wingmaidens, then muttered a few hurried commands. Promptly, one sped off toward the sea, another to the beach. "If the bottle was here and was found directly on our island, our beach, you can't just toss a bottle into the ocean and hope it ends up where you want it to. Orion planted the bottle near here."

She picked up the note, and taking note of Hiccup's hands, gave it to Astrid. "I've sent my Wingmaidens to search in case they have left anything, or are still here. Orion is dangerous. Perhaps not as dangerous as Drago, or Viggo, but this is an entirely new physiological situation."

Hiccup's eyes followed her as she frantically paced. "What kind of situation? If he's not as dangerous as Viggo-"

Atali stopped pacing and kicked the floor in a display of unusual frustration. "It's not a he, it's a she."

Everyone was still, considering this prospect as Atali continued. "All that we have fought against have been males, and that helps us in a few ways. Our mother Razorwhips attack them without hesitation, and we even find it easier to fight them. Our culture is based around the fact that we believe males will not allow us to continue our sacred purpose of protecting Razorwhips."

Astrid continued her train of thought. "But Orion is a female, and-"

"It's different. We're not saying that males and females are harder or easier to battle against. We're saying it's a different way of thinking that some in the archipelago have yet to come across."

She walked to the edge of their ship, and stared at the sea in watch for her Wingmaidens. "You absolutely don't have to take my advice. But here it is. You need to get back to New Berk as fast as possible. Orion has a huge sea operation, with one mother ship controlling it all. My scouts reported it was seen near the Edge, and she has a new base. Once you get to New Berk, she won't be able to track you. It's farther than she's ever gone, as far as we know."

Hiccup nodded wearily. "Thank you, Atali. Is there any more you know about Orion?"

She nodded. "She's intelligent. She's got the mind of Viggo. And she likes to be in control of everything. It's going to feel as if she always makes the first move, and destroys you with the last."

Hiccup briefly glanced up at Astrid, her face was as worried as his. "Thank you. Eret, Snotlout. Get the ship ready, would you?"

They nodded, and swung onto the sail and ropes. Atali flew up a few feet, her baby Razorwhip now awake and flapping. "I'll leave you to it, then. The Wingmaidens should be leaving very soon. I wish you well, and hope we will meet again soon."

Hiccup stood up, still leaning on the chair. "Thank you, the same to you."

She promptly flew away, gliding to her island. Hiccup left the chair, standing on his own. Astrid moved to support him, but he shook his head. "I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" He nodded, but he was sure that she could see the truth in his eyes. She was the only one that ever could. He wanted her next to him, and supporting him even without the actual physical support.

Her eyebrows set in understanding, then took the chair and headed downstairs. "I'll be right back up."

Hiccup watched the ship slowly drift away, the island growing smaller. They had been slowly sailing away when they saw a group of dragons and two silhouettes against the sky, speeding out from the island.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut dashed to the railing, almost falling over in their excitement. They squinted up at the group. Tuffnut exclaimed, "Is that who I think it is?"

Ruffnut bounced on heels. "Wingnutt!"

Sure enough, flying gaily with the group, was a full-grown, sparkling Wingnutt. Tuffnut and Ruffnut kept staring at them, and followed their path across the sky. Hiccup smiled, thinking of their times together.

He certainly did not think about the disturbing incident when Tuffnut and Ruffnut attempted to feed Wingnutt. Nope, that memory was locked tight in a box labeled, "Never Again."

When they had moved far away from the island, far enough for the unique spikes to look like toothpicks, Hiccup went down to the lowest level, which held storage area for the dozens of dusty crates that they had stuffed in here. The light seeped in from a few minute cracks in the side of the ship. He sat down on a crate, wincing as he gazed at his bandaged hands.

He found himself trying to grip things, and unable to. Astrid had tied them tight to keep the cuts from getting worse. They wrapped around the lower parts of his fingers, and his upper palm. As he stared at them, he was reminded of the bandage that had kept peeling off on the side of his face.

When he heard the door open, he looked up to see Astrid walking toward him. Her face seemed worried, and she knelt down by him. She silently took his hands in hers, and he relaxed in the cool feel of her hands.

She pulled up a crate next to his, and sat on it. In a surge of hopelessness, he buried his head in her shoulder.

She let him wrap his arms around her, and pull her close, reciprocating his actions by looping her arms around his neck. He leaned his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes when she leaned in for a soft, reassuring kiss.

He kissed her back, feeling eternally grateful for her support. When they pulled away for air , he murmured, "Thank you."

She smiled, softly. He pulled her onto his lap, then, and hugged her tightly from the back. She leaned her head against his chest, and they cuddled together in the first time in a while, in the crazy time they were currently in.

As he buried his head in her sweet, golden hair, he couldn't help but love her more than he could express.

They sat there together for a long time, longer than they cared to remember. He rejoiced in feeling the warmth from her, snuggling with her.

But the beautiful, loving moment was disturbed by a realization that came at the worst time possible.

Three things flew into Hiccup's mind.

1\. A strange ship was seen on the Edge.

2\. Orion's ship was reported to be near the Edge.

3\. Orion had a new base.

He whispered aloud. "Wait. Oh my gods."

Astrid turned around to face him, her clear-blue eyes scanning him. "What is it?"

He gulped, then looked straight at her.

"Orion's new base is on the Edge."

Author's notes: I'd like everyone to remember that these are Viking times. This is centuries before our time, and our beliefs. And yes, this chapter does contain some sexist theories that were believed during that time. How to Train Your Dragon does not have any female villains, and that is most likely because Viking women did not hunt, fish, or sail, as men did. But I have always hated stereotypical villains, and I wanted to bring in a different perspective from the antagonist's point of view. This villain is more revolutionary than others, and you will begin to see her beliefs as the chapters go on.

Thank you for reading! Have a great day. ~ScribeOfTheLegends 


	7. Chapter 7: Retraining

After The War Ch7

Hiccup turned his hands over, staring at the tiny scars now peppering the surface. Centimeter-long scratches stood out from the pale skin, seeming like bright-red fire ants that constantly bit his hands.

The cuts had healed and completely closed up, but they still stung when he flexed his hands. He gazed curiously at them for a moment, then reached up to feel his face. His hands had blocked most of the glass shards, but a few had still stabbed the side of his face. They were thankfully healing more rapidly than the cuts on his hands.

He could feel Fishleg's and Snotlout's stares on his back as they sat on their own cots. He had faced away from them when he had entered the room, not wanting to see their expressions.

He could hear the rustling of the blankets as they eventually crawled into their beds, blowing out their candles and falling asleep. He finally turned to see Snotlout and Fishlegs asleep in their beds, and Eret and Tuffnut on the far side of the room, also fast asleep. A ray of light shone over them all.

He looked up to see where the moon still shone through a small porthole in the side of the ship. It had been crudely hacked out and fitted with a small door, to allow light in for nights like this.

He got up quietly, not wanting to wake the others, and tiptoed over to the porthole. Through the hole, he could see the calm waters reflecting the moon's glow. Dark blue waves went on as far as he could see. They lapped against the boat, making gentle sloshing sounds. Sticking a hand outside, he welcomed the cool breath of air on his aching cuts.

He leaned on the wall and stared out at the never-ending sea. What a peaceful view, he thought. Instead of appearing foreboding, as one might see the ocean in its current murky state, he saw a beautiful waterscape.

When the shattering revelation that the Edge was Orion's base came to him earlier that dreadful day, he had blankly explained the reasons he had come across the realization to Astrid, still not quite over it himself.

The Edge was different than Berk, or New Berk, or any home he'd ever had. It was a place of exploration, wonder, and of course the exhilarating lack of adult supervision. It had been a home for just a year, yet it was more than just an island outpost. It represented his late teenage years, he thought. It represented a time of freedom, being able to explore islands at his ease and fly anywhere he wished. It represented a time before the burden of leadership.

To hear that Orion had taken over the Edge as her own base, had made him angry beyond disbelief. The Edge has been built by his team, fought for by his friends, and led by him. This enemy had no business making a base out of the Edge.

Astrid had immediately jumped up and tugged Hiccup to the deck, calling for the others. When they had all assembled on the deck, he had briefly explained how he knew that Orion's new base was on the Edge.

"But we're not gonna let her, right?" Snotlout had interjected. "We can just whip their butts and take the Edge back."

Hiccup had shook his head. "We can't whip their butts, Snotlout. For one," He sighed. "We don't have dragons anymore. It's just us and our manpower. We don't have firepower or flight. We don't have many weapons, and there's literally eight of us."

Snotlout had raised his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, geez!"

Eret had suggested returning to New Berk, as Atali had suggested, but Hiccup had also vetoed that idea. "We can't return with Orion vowing to stop us. She's powerful. From what Atali told us, we know she has a naval army that could easily overpower our weak boats. Even if New Berk is farther than she's ever gone, it doesn't mean that she can't follow us there. And besides, we lead her to New Berk, we lead her to the Hidden World.

"Here's the thing. We are in no condition to start a war, or even engage in battle. We are eight people, on a small ship, with minimal weapons. Yes, you guys are good fighters, but Orion's fighters will also be good. They overpowered the Wingmaidens. What chance do we have in our current state?"

Astrid had asked, "So, what next?"

"We need to talk with Orion." Seeing the other's exasperated looks and groans, he continued, "We could actually reason with her. At least give words a shot before it turns to blades."

After the other's persisting arguments, they had come to an agreement. Hiccup would try to "reason" with Orion through Terror Mail, while they sailed to the island where the Defenders of the Wing were currently staying.

He now stared out the window, looking up from time to time to where the moon gradually shifted behind clouds. With a silent sigh, he swung the porthole door shut and latched it closed. When the moonlight disappeared, he blindly groped his way across the room to his bed, which he sunk into after removing his prosthetic.

He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. He stared at the wooden ceiling for an long moment, before his eyes fluttered shut.

—

Something large and fluffy connected with his head, and he shouted in surprise and flailed his arms, trying to get out of the bed. He finally succeeded in untangling himself from the covers, then glared blearily at the blurry figures standing across the room. They were bent over in laughter. "WHO threw that pillow?"

Tuffnut was doubled over in laughter. "I take FULL responsibility for that."

Eret joined in, slinging an arm over Tuffnut's shoulder and jostling him. "Hey, I participated!"

Hiccup glared at them before a grin broke out on his face. He reached over the bed for his prosthetic, then picked the pillow off the floor. Standing up, he took careful aim and lobbed it straight at Tuffnut's helmeted head. Granted, the pillow didn't do much, considering the layer of metal covering Tuffnut's head, but he still jerked back in surprise. "Hey!"

Hiccup smirked. "Revenge is revenge."

Snotlout was still howling in laughter at Hiccup's awakening. "Oh man, you should've seen your face! Also, you're rocking that bed head."

Automatically reaching up to ruffle his hair, he unsuccessfully tried to smooth it. Giving up when it popped right back, he dusted his clothes off and attempted to straighten the wrinkles, to no avail. "What time is it?"

Eret and Fishlegs headed toward the door. "Round seven, mate. C'mon, breakfast should be waiting by now."

They trooped out of the room, heading to the above deck. The smell of frying fish greeted their sniffing noses.

Astrid and Ruffnut were flipping fish on the fire rack, a metal frame for cooking. Several roasted fish already lay on a plate. Valka was already deboning one, nibbling at the boneless parts.

Snotlout gleefully reached his hand toward the pile of cooling fish, but Ruffnut slapped it. "Uh-uh. Those are for us. You can cook your own breakfast."

Snotlout groaned. "What? I'm hungry!"

Astrid finished frying a fish and swept them all onto one plate. "That's why you should've gotten up early to fish and cook like we did. We aren't going to cook for you." She took the plate and sat down with Valka and Ruffnut to eat.

Snotlout looked morosely at the fish, but Eret slapped him on the back. "We can do this! It's just watching fish roast, right?"

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "It's not just watching fish burn, though that sounds delightful. Don't forget actually catching the fish."

"Oh. Right."

Leaving them to their complaining, Hiccup sat down next to Astrid. She raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to steal my fish?"

He shook his head. "I'm not that hungry." Seeing her disbelieving look, he shrugged. "I'll eat later. Some'll be left over."

He watched her pick apart a fish, then asked, "Do you know if we're on the right way to the Edge? Or at least the island near it where the Defenders are?"

She chewed before responding, "If we can trust the map from the Defender's library, then we should be on the right track there. Thankfully, the sea and wind are in our favor today."

The others had finally uncovered some stale fish cooked yesterday, and giving up on fresh food, they decided to take what they had. "Ugh." Tuffnut complained. "This is like, eww."

Fishlegs shrugged. "I mean, I'll take it." He looked at Hiccup. "You aren't eating anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll eat later. Listen, everyone. While we're getting ready to face Orion, I think we need to change some things."

Valka set down her plate. "Like what?"

He cleared his throat. "We need to be more ready. We've trained most of our lives to battle with dragons. We've learned maneuvering moves, flying formations, concentrating firepower, you get the idea. But all of our battle tactics have relied on our dragons being with us. As they're obviously not..."

Valka asked him, "What you're saying sounds like you're thinking about battle."

He spread his hands. "I can't predict the future, but by the way things are going, there will be battle. I know we would never be able to battle Orion by ourselves, but we'll hopefully have the Defenders of the Wing and even more on our side if it really does come to battling Orion."

Tuffnut licked his fingers, and pushed his plate aside. "So, basically, battle Orion, but you're worried about not having our dragons around."

"Exactly. So, if it really does come to battle, we need to be ready. We need to be able to fight, and not just look on from the side while the battle-ready Defenders fight for us. What would that feel like? We need to relearn fighting."

Astrid cut in, "So, fighting as in swords, knives, axes? Training with swords, knives, axes?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But not just with weapons. We really need to learn how to fight together. We need to be able to communicate how to fight, and create new battle strategies. Our rescue missions, to be frank, only went well because we had dragons. By ourselves, we were really horrible at fighting as a team."

There was a glow in Astrid's eyes. "So, we need to train to work together?"

"Yeah, that's the idea. We have maybe a day before we get to the Edge. Let's make good use of it."

Snotlout raised his hand. "Can I help train? I'm obviously the most experienced one here, I can clearly teach everyone the most."

Eret snorted. "I think you're confusing yourself with Astrid."

Astrid flushed with a proud glow as everyone laughed and Snotlout muttered, "Shut up, Eret."

Hiccup nudged her. "You really should train us. Out of us all, you've probably spent the most time training for situations like this."

She replied, "I train for every situation." Setting her plate down, she rubbed her hands together and looked at them. "Alright, who's ready to train?"

—

Too slow, she thought. Construction was going too slow.

They had picked the island because they thought it already had adequate buildings and defense structures, but they hadn't expected it to be in a such a disarray. It didn't look like the Berkians even visited this... Edge after they left it. Metal had corroded, wood cracked and splintered. A small hut foolishly placed near the ocean with no barriers had been demolished by storms.

Still, the island had stables. Plenty of natural resources. Plus, the blue hut had a really nice ballista Orion was itching to try out.

Now, her workers moved supplies from the ship to the island. Others worked on reconstructing the buildings. She herself had pitched in with them, working for a few hours before she was called to organize construction plans.

Now she sat at her desk, staring at a map of the island. Dafk, her assistant, slouched on the floor nearby, fiddling with his fingers. She tapped her foot for his attention. "Dafk? What if we moved the ballista over here and put a harpoon thrower over the blue hut?"

The man shrugged. "The height would help with harpoons. Dunno much about this stuff."

She shrugged and continued planning. "How's your wife doing?"

He looked up at last, a slight shimmer in his eyes. "Pretty good, actually. We've got another kid on the way, found out a few weeks ago."

Orion smiled briefly. "Congratulations. You already have one girl, correct? Lydia?"

He nodded. "That's her. My wife's name is Delia."

She continued scratching out designs on the map of the island. "I hope everything goes well. Can you take this to the team working on the huts?" He took the rolled map and darted out the door into the hallways.

She cleaned up her supplies, then left the room herself. Navigating the long hallways, she climbed up to the main deck, where she could see the Edge being worked on by minuscule figures. Behind her, the sea stretched farther than she could see.

She thought about the other islands and seastacks surrounding the edge. Maybe they could expand there, once they fortified the main island.

Walking leisurely to the dock, she started climbing up the steep wooden slants curving around the steep cliff. She climbed methodically, stopping when she reached the top. Watching the workers bustle around, she stood there for a moment, proudly surveying the work.

The huts were being renovated to become housing for her workers. Beds were added, and extra space was needed. The clubhouse would serve as a common room for eating, and the stables would serve their intended purpose once the various dragons were brought in.

Then she turned to the sea, and in the briefest nanoseconds, saw the point of a ship retreating from behind a sea stack. She blinked, unsure of what she saw, but then the ship had disappeared from view.

She ran to where she could see behind the seastack, keeping her eyes trained on it. When she had run to the other edge of the island, she again saw the smallest flash of a ship's head.

Instantly understanding, her mental calculations kicked in. She dashed back to the mother ship, hurrying up the gang plank. "Dafk! Has anyone seen Dafk?"

A woman pointed towards a figure talking to a group of intently listening people. "DAFK!" She shouted. He looked around for the source of the noise. "Dafk! Get a rowboat and five seamen now!"

Not hesitant to obey his leader's orders, he grabbed some sailers and ushered them into a rowboat tied to the outside of the ship. They hopped in questioningly, some getting directly to work as they undid the lines.

She ran to them, ignoring the strange looks she got. There wasn't any time to explain. She swung into the boat, then swiftly untied the ropes that fastened it to the ship. The boat dropped down into the sea, and water splashed over the edge. She pointed toward the sea stack. "Get us there!"

The sailers picked up the oars and began to steer the boat toward the sea stack. Orion kept her eyes trained on it, clenching her hands together as she silently urged the little boat to go faster.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally arrived at the sea stack. The sailers finally resting in the shade of the pillar of rock, Orion stood up to peer around the edge.

At first, she saw nothing. Just sea all around. Then she saw a ship lurking behind a larger sea stack, obviously under the impression they were hidden. She frantically pulled the magnifying scope from her pocket, then rewound it to stare intently at the ship.

Just what she thought.

The ship belonged to the Defenders of the Wing.

—

Astrid bit her lip as she watched Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Snotlout, and Eret try to work together. Valka, Fishlegs and Hiccup were acting as the enemy. As Valka, Fishlegs, and Hiccup were usually able to agree with one another, they easily outsmarted Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout, and Eret's team.

The four "defenders" were all facing away from each other, some in entirely different sides of the ship. Ruffnut had her back to the edge and was slowly becoming cornered as Hiccup and Fishlegs brandished their weapons at her. Tuffnut and Snotlout had run to the opposite side, trying to get away from the enemy, but had been cornered by Valka, twirling her staff.

Only Eret seemed half-competent. He had tried signaling to the others to create a plan, but as they shrieked and ran, he gave up. He swung onto the center pole of the ship, calmly watching the chaos below.

Astrid whistled, and everyone turned to look at her. "Guys, I'll be blunt. That was pretty bad, at least on Tuff, Ruff, and Snotlout's part. Eret, not bad."

Tuffnut scowled. "Oh, c'mon! How are you supposed to avoid the enemy in a situation like this?"

She raised an eyebrow in response. "Ever heard of working together? Alright, twins, Snotlout, and Hiccup in the middle of the ship. All in a group. There you go."

She walked toward them. "I'll give you ten seconds to create a plan before," She motioned to Fishlegs, Eret and Valka, "All four of us try to capture you."

Tuffnut sputtered, "Ten sec-"

"Starting... now." Counting under her breath, she watched with slight amusement as Hiccup whispered-screamed orders at them.

When the ten seconds were up, the twins moved to disarm Eret and Valka, Snotlout charged at Fishlegs, and Hiccup brandished his sword at Astrid. She easily countered his strike with her axe, then tried to twist Hiccup's sword out of his hand. They exchanged blows for a few seconds before Hiccup's sword eventually clattered out of his hand from a particularly hard blow from Astrid.. Smiling sheepishly at her, he remarked, "Whoops. Was not supposed to happen."

She laughed and stepped closer. "I can tell." She lightly tapped Hiccup on the shoulder with her free hand. "Captured."

He scooped Inferno up as they watched Snotlout disarm Fishleg's sword after a surprisingly tough exchange. Eret easily rid Ruffnut of her mace, while Tuffnut was still battling with Valka, although his blows were becoming weaker and weaker.

Snotlout jumped to help Tuffnut, and together they whacked Valka's staff out of her hand. Astrid whistled as the fighting came to a stop. "Guys, that was pretty good! Snotlout, good thinking to help Tuffnut. If you've defeated your enemy, move to help one of your own who may be growing weaker. Ruffnut, try to make use of your agility. Don't engage in combat, rather sneak around Eret until you can surprise him. And Hiccup," She turned to face him. "I know you can do better than that. You've beaten me before."

He nodded guiltily. "Yeah, like twice."

She turned back to the others. "We'll take a short break, and then we need to work on physical strengths before we get to Defenders of the Wing."

Snotlout almost instantly dropped down and curled himself into a ball. "Ohh, I have not felt this disgustingly exercised in forever."

Tuffnut and Ruffnut dropped to their knees next to him, gulping down canteens of water. "I know, right? I feel like I can't pick up my mace anymore."

Astrid watched Hiccup fiddle with his sword, a worried expression growing on his face. "What is it?"

He tugged the canister of Zippleback gas out. "Once my supply of Zippleback gas and Monstrous Nightmare gel goes out, Inferno won't be able to light on fire. Without it's fire, Inferno will just be a hunk of metal. It's not even a proper sword, it's barely sharp."

"It was meant for training dragons, not battle. How much Zippleback gas and gel you have left?" He continued to fiddle with his sword. "I can't check the gas level, or obviously it all comes out. The gel is maybe half full."

Fishlegs piped up, having overheard the conversation. "Ooh, what we try to get the same effect with something else? Something in nature that we can always find?"

Hiccup handed the sword to him. "How would that work?"

"Well, you see..." Astrid laughed at their nerdiness and walked over to where Valka was cleaning her staff. "Still a couple of hours before we get there?"

Valka told her, "Most likely. Hopefully even less." Holding her staff out, she asked Astrid, "Do you think I should use something other than this?"

Astrid examines the blue-brown wooden staff up and down. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, it's still in good shape. But this was meant for training dragons, and defense. I held off Drago with this, but it can't do any real damage unless I bonk someone in the head. Maybe a spear-"

Astrid cut her off. "I can see where you're coming from, but I think you should use this. It's still a weapon even if it doesn't destruct, and it's easily the easiest for you to use. But if you're feeling skeptical, we could modify it or you could keep a dagger as backup." "That could work. Thank you. When are we getting back to work?"

"Right now." She turned back to the others. "All right, back to training!"

—

Hiccup stumbled into the boy's bedroom and tossed Inferno on his bed, then promptly collapsed next to it. He heard Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut doing the same. "Ughhhhh." Snotlout groaned. "My whole body hurts."

Eret strode in, laughing at their struggles. "Even you, Hiccup? I thought you were above this."

He flopped over. "In my defense, Astrid put me through worse than the rest of you."

Tuffnut sat up. "Oh really? Like what?"

He sat up on his bed. "I had to go against her every time."

"Ooh. Good point."

Eret walked up to Snotlout and threw a pillow at him. "I suggest you get ready, lads. We'll be at Defenders of the Wing in half an hour. Chop chop!" He walked out, shoulders shaking with laughter at their exhaustion.  
Fishlegs pushed himself off the bed.  
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I guess I'll go try to get rid of the sweat smell around me. You guys might want to try too."

Waving his hand in front of his face, Tuffnut remarked, "TMI, Fishlegs."

Heading out the door, Hiccup saw Fishlegs raise his hands. "Don't pretend like you can't smell it!"

Hiccup lay on his bed a few moments, staring at the ceiling, then climbed off. He reached under his bed for his crate of items, then pulled out a hairbrush. Trying to tame his hair, he almost managed to get it to stay flat.

He replaced the hairbrush and pushed the crate back underneath his bed. He headed toward the door, glancing back to see Snotlout and Tuffnut still sprawled on their beds. Stifling a laugh, he exited the room and met Ruffnut in the hallway.

They started toward the trapdoor leading to the deck. "D'you happen to know where my brother is?"

He held the trapdoor open for her. "Trying to recover from the training session."

She snorted. "Boys. So weak."

He shut the trapdoor behind him and straightened up to see the new island the Defenders of the Wing had settled on. It was similar to their original island, with plenty of woods and what seemed like small mountains. Thankfully, nothing that resembled a volcano could be seen.

It still remained little more than the palm of his hand, yet past the horizon. "Hey, Eret, can you go back down to get the guys? We're closer than I thought we were."

"On it, Chief."

He heard a cranking up above him and looked up to see the sail turning ever so slightly so that they wouldn't crash into the island. Looking sideways, he saw Fishlegs and Astrid pulling the ropes to keep the sail in place.

He crossed his arms and stared blankly at the growing island, waiting as they neared. His heart began to pound just a little bit louder, and just a little bit more frantically.

They were soon joined by Snotlout and Tuff so the whole crew was staring at the island, waiting for them to reach it.

As the outlines of the trees and people emerged, he saw a red-haired bulky figure waving energetically. Instantly recognizing Dagur, he raised his hand in greeting.

The ship slowed when it reached the shallower water, sliding forward just enough for a gangplank to rest on the ship. Hiccup strode off the ship first onto the dock, being crushed by Dagur a few seconds later. "R-ribs-"

Dagur released him from the tight hug later, shouting, "Brother! How are you?"

Hiccup rubbed his sides self-consciously. "Crushed."

Dagur slapped him on the back. "Glad to hear it. Mala's with Oswald in the village. Well, the few houses that are up right now."

Wincing inside, Hiccup told him, "I'm sorry about all the fuss. You have to rebuild, and-"

Dagur pushed him in front of him and started walking to the village. Hiccup jerked his head back to see the others following him. "Oh, it's not a problem. Okay, so it's a little problem. Teensy-eensy problem. But we understand, don't worry. This is for the greater good, after all."

Hiccup nodded. "Thank you for understanding." They reached the village after walking in a worn path through the grass, flattened down after so many other people traveled on it. A slim, blonde figure rushed toward them with a baby in her arms. "Hiccup. I hope your journey went well. Come, the scouts need to report. I think you need to hear this."

She rushed ahead to where a group of black-clothed men were talking amongst themselves. As they neared, the men turned to Mala and bowed respectfully. "Queen Mala. As we were scouting the Edge to track them, we may have been spotted by her." She pressed her thin lips together. "What do you mean, may have?" She cradled Oswald, being careful to support his head.

Another piped up. "We were hiding behind the sea stack, but she must have seen us from the island because she sent a rowboat after us. As we were getting away, they got another look at us."

Mala's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Did you switch the sails from the Defenders of the Wing flag to the decoy?"

Their feet scuffled uncomfortably on the ground, then one meekly shook his head. Mala uttered a frustrated groan, beginning to pace back and forth. "You need to report to Throk about what happened, then building duties right away. I'll get another crew to scout."

One almost opened his mouth to argue, but the others pulled him away, presumably to Throk. Judging by the looks on their faces, building was a severe demotion from scouting. They shuffled away, and Mala handed Oswald to Dagur. "Take him to bed, then get another scouting crew for tomorrow. I'll take these ones on scouting."

Dagur cradled Oswald in his soft-brown blanket, raising an eyebrow. "All of them?"

Mala turned toward them. "Hiccup has to come, obviously, and I'll take Astrid, Eret, and Valka. Is that alright?"

Tuffnut raised a hand. "What'll we be doing, then? Not that I wouldn't love building for you guys, but like, anything else to pass the time?"

Hiccup sighed. "Tuff, Ruff, Snotlout, and Fishlegs, unless Mala or Dagur has something better for you to do, you need to help build." Turning to Mala, he asked, "So you're taking us scouting? Where?"

Mala pointed to the dock. "Around the Edge. And hopefully we will do a better job than the muttonheads before us. Everyone else, the builders are that way."

Snotlout looked disgruntled, muttering out of the corner of his mouth, "Why do they get to do the fun stuff? 'The builders are that way'. Like really!"

Fishlegs pushed him along, while Mala herded them back toward the dock. Hiccup began to grow tired of Mala and Dagur rushing everywhere. He felt uninformed and unimportant. They had arrived here just to be shepherded off to different places, Mala even splitting up their team.

They reached the dock and climbed onto a small, one-story boat with only what looked like a foot of storage underneath the trapdoor. The small sail was a greenish-blue, almost blending in with the sea.

Mala gestured to some Defenders in their customary black-gold outfit, then they abandoned their work and moved to untie the rope connected the ship to the dock. Astrid hurried to release the sail and and the fabric unfurled, moving the ship slowly away.

When the Defenders stepped back and watched the ship move on, Mala glanced at the moving boat with an impatient expression. Hiccup watched her, then asked, "Mala, could you explain everything?"

She kept staring at the sea. "We've been watching the Edge and the work Orion's been doing on it."

Hiccup gaped. "Orion? When did you guys find out she was on the Edge?"

Finally tearing her eyes away from the growing dot on the horizon that must have been the Edge, she responded. "When we got closer. We sent a ship to talk to them, ask who they were, what they wanted. Island-island things. But then we recognized them from what Atali told us."

"I thought you didn't know she existed." Hiccup replied truthfully. He had thought the Wingmaidens were the only ones who knew about Orion. He felt terribly misinformed and that the situation was out of his control.

"You are not the only ones corresponding with the Wingmaidens. Now, it appeared a scouting boat had been spotted by them."

Glancing back toward the growing island, she continued, "I need to see this for myself. I haven't been on any scouting trips yet, and you all need to grasp the situation. Obviously, we'll keep out of heir sight. There's a fairly large set of sea stacks we can hide in, you're familiar with the area, of course."

Valka leaned forward with interest. "So we're heading toward the Edge right now?"

"That's right."

Leaning backwards to see Astrid, he exchanged a half-serious half-anticipating look with her. They hadn't planned to be on the near the Edge so soon. Now, after two years, he would see his island home again. Albeit while captured by a ruthless enemy, but it was still the Edge.

Mala slowed the boat when it came to a sea stack, and they all got up for a closer look. Eret fished a magnifying scope out of his pack, then handed it to Hiccup. He took it and tuned it so he could see the Edge.

It was slightly unrecognizable. Of course the huge, intimidating ship did cover half his view of the island, but he couldn't even see the vibrant colors of the huts. Tiny workers seemed to be scuttling all around it, completely transforming the island.

A deep sense of longing expanded in his chest as he stared at the place where his hut once was. He removed the scope from his eye and gave it to Astrid who eagerly fixed her view onto the Edge, though he didn't stop staring at it.

Mala cranked the sail back up very small amount. "We'll try to go to the next sea stack. Get a closer look at the island and the ship. Then one more sea stack is as far as I dare to go."

She carefully and quickly steered the ship toward the nearing sea stack, Eret helping to hold ropes in place as they anxiously urged the boat on. They were in the wide open for a second, before they reached the shade of the towering stack of rock and they all let out a relieved sigh.

Then he heard a thump.

And a scuffle.

And a sound of another ship bumping into theirs.

And as he turned, a brown-haired, skinny, shockingly young girl swung onto the deck, coming from another ship.

She smiled, an almost normal expression if Hiccup hadn't known exactly who she was.

"Hello, Hiccup," said Orion.

—

I'm sorry for the long wait, and I know this horribly unsatisfactory chapter definitely did not make up for that. Chapters will now be posted more regularly. Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for reading. ~ScribeOfTheLegends


	8. Chapter 8: Battle

After The War Ch8

* * *

Warning: This chapter contains moderate mentions of violence.

* * *

Panic.

It was coursing through his body.

It was only thing he could feel.

His heart hammered against his rib cage. It felt as if his body didn't exist anymore. The only things in existence were his questions and his fears, both of which had pervaded him entirely.

Orion stepped onto the floor of their ship, as the other ship she had crept up on them with bumped theirs. The other ship was small, almost as small as theirs. The sail and wood was cleverly camouflaged, and the five other people on board stared at them, showing no emotion. They all wore the same outfit, dull brown shirts and pants with stone-faced expressions. They barely moved. At once, the frozen spell on Hiccup disappeared. He unstrapped Inferno from his leg by twisting it, and the blade smoothly slid out with a sharp hiss. He resisted the urge to set flames on it; those had to be saved. Instead, he warily brandished the metal blade. Behind him, he heard the sharp scrapes of Mala drawing her blade, and Astrid taking her axe. Eret removed his dagger, and he heard the sharp click of his mother's wooden staff.

Orion pulled a iron shield emblazoned with a constellation from her back and a glinting sword with a thin, almost invisible blade. Behind her, her soldiers drew their own blades.

Orion was surprisingly skinny, clothed in dark brown pants and a black shirt. She wore hard gray armor that shone glaringly in the sunlight. She had dark chestnut hair, almost black yet recognizably brown. It reached her shoulders in a sharp curve.

Keeping her sword carefully in front of her, Orion stared unblinkingly at Hiccup. "You know who I am and why I am here. I'm not going to waste time with introductions. We want the location of the Hidden World."

Hiccup inched his foot forward, almost tentatively. "You won't get anything out of us."

She rolled her dark blue eyes. "I thought so. How about this? We've got a fleet of thirty ships, we've got allies on all sides of the archipelago, we've got gold, weapons, an army, a navy, you get the idea. Oh, and we've already captured your Dragon's Edge. We have a lot of ways to coerce you into giving us the location. And besides, we could find it eventually. Just this way's faster." She twirled her sword as she talked, effectively showing off the maneuverability of it.

"So if we don't give you the location, what? You'll imprison us? Torture more innocent dragons?"

Orion snorted. "Innocent? What dragons are innocent or guilty? They're just animals. Sure, they think for ourselves, they can sometimes understand us, and be our friends, but so can yaks. And sheep. What's the difference then?"

His mind buzzed. Other oppositions had always refused to accept that dragons could think for themselves and had a right to live, but Orion agreed so flippantly. The difference was, they thought dragons were worth money. He knew that weren't owned by anybody except themselves, and therefore they couldn't be sold from anyone, to anyone. It was as horrid as some tales of slavery he had heard of from southern traders.

"The difference is that you think dragons can have owners, as sheep and yaks can. They are far more intelligent than us, and they cannot be owned by anyone besides themselves."

Orion shrugged nonchalantly. "Intelligence doesn't matter when you outnumber them. There are plenty of dragons. But, Hiccup Haddock, I've been creating my army since my thirteenth year."

He saw their boats drift farther and farther apart in the water and his heart quickened. He had to say anything, anything to stall the time. He needed a plan before Orion and her soldiers attacked. "We will never give you the location of the Hidden World." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her flick her hand, almost indistinguishably. The five people on the other boat tensed, and as Orion took another step toward them, he made up his mind. Desperate to take control of the fight before she did, he lifted his sword and lunged forward.

Astrid, Eret, Valka and Mala started forward with him, fending off the arrows that sped toward them from the other ship. In his peripheral vision he saw blurs of brown dart past him and toward him. Metal clanged against metal as he fended off arrows. The force of them flying toward him knocked his sword a little harder each time. He charged forward as Orion sped toward him.

She stabbed down and Hiccup parried off the attack. The side of his sword banged against her thin, seemingly weak sword. Then a ray of sunlight hit it and it flashed brilliantly as he realized it was razor-sharp and could mame anything the swinging, curving blade touched.

It was like a whip of strong yet flexible metal. It would go anywhere Orion directed it to, and could either slash or wrap around, even cutting a limb off.

His sword clanged on hers, and he plainly saw that she was an experienced swordsman. Hiccup was fairly rusty, and he struggled to gain control of the fight. Desperation filled him more with each passing second. They exchanged blows until Hiccup saw an arrow coming at him out of the corner of eye and knocked it aside just in time, though it cost him.

Orion's blade curled toward him and he saw the flexible yet sturdy metal flash toward his face. He dodged by ducking to the side so the blade curled on the opposite side of where he had been. Anger infuriated him and he swung particularly hard at her hand. The relatively dull blade struck her hand, and while it did not pierce the skin, he could have sworn he heard a crack.

She stumbled back and he stole a split second to glance around. One of the soldiers had jumped onto their boat and was ferociously battling Eret, who was on the defense. He looked back towards Orion to see that she had switched hands, and instead of her right hand she carried her sword in her left.

Unless she was ambidextrous, this was even more dangerous. With less control on it, it would flail everywhere and anywhere, but with no regard for who it hit. It would hit Orion just as likely as it would hit Hiccup.

She swung her sword toward his side, and he mentally scolded themselves for rushing off so unprepared. They hadn't even considered bringing armor. He forced back the blow and as the whip-sword swung backwards, he hit the hilt of it. He narrowly missed hitting her hand, and as it clattered out of her hand, Orion stared back at him and began to clamber backwards, back toward her ship.

Hiccup watched her go, still poised in a position for battle, as she limped back. He was confused. Why had she been so easy to beat? Why in the world was she retreated to pitifully? Was her hand really that bad? For a nanosecond he began to think they had overestimated her. Yet as he wasted time thinking and being utterly perplexed, Orion had drawn a silver, sharp dagger from within her armor with her good hand.

As the last moment, he saw the silver flash in the sun, and he again set his stance to defend himself. His sword was set so he could knock aside the dagger. Then he saw Orion smirk in his direction, then look past him. Confused, he watched as she stared past him, careful not to turn his back on her.

With a sharp flick of her hand, the dagger in her hand flew as accurately as a bullet. His chest filled with the worst feeling of terrible horrification and his mind blanked as his eyes watched the blade fly toward Astrid.

His mind catching up, he instinctively screamed, "NO!" and Astrid turned at the last second. Only evident years of training and precise reflexes saved her, by her axe immediately jerking to knock the dagger aside, inches from her chest. Her eyes were wide as she connected the dots, staring at the figure of Orion which was staring back in disbelief.

Caution abandoning him, Hiccup charged forward with his sword in front. His heart still shuddered as he processed what he saw. The dagger had flown directly toward Astrid and she could have died. Orion had dared to kill his Astrid.

She stood on the narrow point of the ship, preparing to jump back to her own ship now her plan had failed. Hiccup came behind her and with the flat of his blade, swung at her back. The force caused her to fall and crash onto the deck of her own ship. The soldiers knocked arrows in their bows and a couple raised their sword and took steps forward, but Orion raised a hand from where she knelt on the ground.

She stared up at Hiccup, where he stood on the point of Mala's ship. "You were lucky this time. At least now you know not to underestimate me." With those last foreboding words, the sail unfolded and the ship moved briskly away in the wind.

Hiccup was left clenching his sword, staring hard at the retreating boat from the prow of his ship.

* * *

The small boat seemed smaller when they finally reached the dock. Several working Defenders looked up, but seeing their grim faces, returned to their jobs.

They hadn't spoken the entire trip back. He knew the others had been staring at him and probably even whispering about the battle, but he refused to separate his attention from his thoughts. He had blankly stared at the Edge as it faded into the distance, only unclenching his death-grip from his sword when red marks appeared on his palm.

He walked off first and kept walking in what felt like anger and... guilt. They should have been more prepared. They had been training for situations like this, but it had almost gone horribly wrong. They thought they were ready, but only the sheerest of luck had saved them.

He was the Chief. He was more than the leader of five dragon riders, he was now the leader of an entire island and the choices he made would affect many, many more islands and their populations. He couldn't afford to mess up like this.

He just kept walking back to the village, methodically stepping through the waist-high grass. He knew the rest were following him, but he didn't care.

He felt like the screw-up again. Like the idiot Hiccup the Useless he had been when he was small. The village moron who couldn't lift an axe and went hunting for trolls. But now when he screwed up, it impacted more than Gobber's next client or his father's paperwork. It impacted the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands of people and dragons.

It felt as if the only thing he had done since he lost Toothless was screw up.

He wanted Toothless back. He wanted his best friend and his flying buddy back. An almost childlike urge filled him to go to the Hidden World and take Toothless from there.

He reached the village and his attention left the mangled world of his thoughts. He waited next to a tree, watching the building go on. He saw the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs sourly working on buildings, and again berated himself. They were just as valuable as any of the other team members. They should have been allowed to go.

He heard rustlings and footsteps from behind him and finally turned to see Mala, Eret, Valka and Astrid wading through the tall grass to where he leaned on the tree.

Mala uncomfortably came to stand by his side. "You should get your Riders. I need to tell Dagur what happened."

He nodded briskly, hoping the conversation was over. Of course it wasn't. She continued, "And..." She turned to face him. "Hiccup Haddock, we need a plan. We're meeting later, after dinner in one of the finished houses."

He nodded again. "Okay." His voice came out as scratched and hoarse. Mala gave him a worried glance and went to find Dagur. After a few awkward moments, Eret came up to him. "What d'ye want us to do?"

He shrugged, still leaning all his weight on the tree with his hand in his pockets. "Go get the others. Tell them about the meeting. Then do whatever you want."

Eret's eyebrows came together, then he shrugged and went to find the others.

As Astrid followed him, Hiccup got up off the tree and held out a hand to stop her. "We need to talk. But later."

She raised an eyebrow. "Not now?"

He shook his head adamantly. "Not now."

She took his hand and squeezed it, then let go and followed Eret. Hiccup looked back to where Valka was beginning to walk with them too, then his mind took a temporary break from its sulky mood and noticed a slight limp. "Mom, are you okay?"

She nodded. "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm just getting older. It's a fact of life. But-"

He interrupted her. "No. Mom, you're what, 50? Please don't try to fight anymore. Take it slowly."

She fondly straightened his buckles. "I know to take care of myself. But thank you."

He watched as she walked to a bench and sat down, watching the others work and calling out a few tips. Even with his current state of intense guilt and desperation, he felt a twinge of satisfaction. Hey, he had done one thing right today.

* * *

The blue gem needed polishing. Right now, it was only a glassy surface that didn't reflect light. When he held it in the direct sunlight, even then it didn't shine the way he wanted it to.

Dragon scales had always shone with a few good rubs. He couldn't understand why this Nadder spike didn't. He had painstakingly cut it from the blue side of one of Stormfly's spikes, and had spent a while polishing it before putting it away for another time. It was clear this gem would need a lot more polishing.

He stood up from the crate he had been sitting on and rummaged through the others until he found his crate. The crates were medium size boxes, made of wooden slabs nailed together. He lifted the lid off of his and moved aside the notebooks and papers until he found the cloth folded into a corner.

He sat back down on the crate, ignoring the scratchy surface, and rubbed the stone over and over. He blankly stared at his task while mulling over events.

He'd screwed up a lot. Yes, he had long since established that. First with leaving New Berk for the Edge, then with leaving the Wingmaidens heavily unprepared for the threat they faced, and now with rushing off to the Edge, again unprepared.

Now they had the threat of Orion facing them, and he couldn't mess anything up.

He needed more allies. That meant the Defenders of the Wing, the Wingmaidens, and the Berserkers. Those three tribes were in the best position to help them attack Orion, as they were all close by and fairly powerful.

The Defenders of the Wing were already on his side, so he had no worries there. He would need to Terror Mail the Wingmaidens and Berserkers, and ask for their assistance.

Right now, he couldn't afford to be proud. They needed as much help as they could get to defeat Orion.

But how would they defeat Orion? If his plan worked, he would have enough people to battle Orion's army. But was battle really the answer?

He had tried persuasion, he didn't really think that would work anymore. Orion's mindset seemed to be set in stone. Maybe if they tried to weaken her forces so she would surrender?

Hiccup tried to use a unbiased approach to his planning. He would try to remain neutral regarding methods of succeeding, instead only focusing on what succeeding actually meant. His father might have thought succeeding meant battle, instead of actually defeating the enemy.

Hiccup thought of succeeding as Orion's surrender. More specific than her defeat, however, since he'd rather Orion surrender herself than him having to force her to her defeat. If he did that, he would be no worse than all the other villains he'd faced.

Right now, his options, were battle, or weaken her forces. Maybe take some of her army out?

His brainstorming was interrupted by footsteps coming down from the above floor. He raised his head and waited for the person to arrive.

Dagur poked his head in. "Hey, uh, Mala wants you. Meeting time, apparently."

He stood up, stretching his stiff muscles. "Okay. Where?"

He shrugged. "A house was finished yesterday and it's the only one available, so there. She wants to discuss tactics to defeat the enemy?"

He held the door for Dagur and followed him out. "Great. Listen, uh, what have the others been doing?"

They passed the bedrooms. "Oh, y'know, helping build. Fishlegs quit after a while and just escaped to the library." He snorted, then glanced back at Hiccup. "Wait, do you mean others as in others or others as in Astrid?"

He tried to look confused, though inside he was surprised at how Dagur had guessed what he was really asking. "If it was the latter, hypothetically, how did you know?"

They emerged onto the deck, in the fading sunlight. The sun was slowly sinking down into the sea, liquefying into dappled gold flowing onto the blue sea. Dusky light blanketed the island and its soft green forests and hills. "I heard from the others what happened. Astrid almost got hit by Orion's dagger, and you went crazy. Charged Orion like a bull. Not that I disapprove, there's nothing wrong with going berserk."

They were now entering the tall grasses that surrounded the village. They pricked Hiccup's torso as they walked through. "I just got so angry. The dagger was heading straight for her." Lost in thought for a second, he snapped back when a particularly stiff blade of grass poked him. "Hey, please don't tell Astrid about this. She doesn't really like me coddling her."

"It's fine. I got you. Hey, there they are. See that house?"

One of the recently completed houses Hiccup had seen earlier had lights on inside the windows. He could see the candles flickering on the windowsills. Finally out of the grass, Hiccup asked, "So they're all in there?"

Dagur nodded. "Yup. Go ahead. There's only like, fifty percent chance of decapitation from my wife." At Hiccup's wary glance, he snorted and pushed him forward. "I'm kidding. I hope."

He took a breath and strode forward onto the porch. He pushed the door open and several pairs of eyes turned toward him. Mala was on the opposite side of the house (it was a fairly small house), standing at the head of a table with maps and books in front of her. "Hiccup."

Fishlegs and Valka made space for him at the opposite side of the table from Mala, and he rested the palms of his hands on the edge of the table. "Mala." He acknowledged her.

"I'll be blunt. I sincerely hope you have a good plan because quite frankly I'm out of ideal ones."

"I've got two options in my mind right now. Engage in battle, or try to weaken her forces."

Dagur leaned in. "And exactly how do we weaken her forces?"

"A number of ways. Take some of her army out, weaken her naval ships, close them off of other transportation means, keep them on the Edge..."

Mala studied a large map of the archipelago in front of her. "And the other option?"

"We get the Wingmaidens and Berserkers on our side and fight. Right until she surrenders. Our ultimate goal here is for her surrender."

Valka asked him, "Surrender, or her defeat? Those are two different things."

Astrid answered for him. "Surrender. Wouldn't it better for her to surrender herself than us having to defeat her, as in completely terminate her?" Tuffnut raised his hand. "Dunno about you, but I'm going for battle. Weakening her forces is gonna take forever, and I just can't fit that into my schedule."

Ruffnut's hand shot up next to her brother's. "Same here. We're on a tight clock, people."

"I actually agree with them." Eret remarked. "Together, all of our forces could bring her down. Then, it's up to her surrender or defeat. Whichever opportunity presents itself first."

Hiccup looked toward the others. "Battle." Snotlout shrugged, leaning back in a chair. Somehow, he had the only chair. "Same reasons as everybody else. Like, we kicked Grimmel's butt. This can't be that hard."

Hiccup laid a hand down. "May I remind you that we had dragons then? And they probably have the same effect that fifteen men could do. We're not so lucky this time."

Valka and Fishlegs both said battle. Astrid, however, said, "I wish there was another option besides battle and weakening her forces. Both are risky. And as it seems like battle is winning, could I just remind everyone that battle is dangerous? We could lose people. Our dragons are not going to swoop in and protect us. These are fighters that will go for the kill."

A heavy silence met her words, as the others uncomfortably weighed her words. And then Hiccup's gaze magnetized itself to Astrid's hard, dead-set eyes.

Their eyes glued them to each other until he couldn't break away. Millions of emotions, more than words could ever, ever describe passed through them.

The pressure of the other's opinions weighed in on his heart, and then Astrid's ice-blue stare cut right through. And it made the decision for him.

He finally tore his eyes away from her penetrating glare to looked around at the expectant faces around him. "Battle it is."

* * *

Hiccup settled on the soft grass of a hill on the Defenders of the Wing landscape. It was far from the village, though close enough so he could see a few faint lights through the darkness.

The grass was wet and soft, unlike the coarse grass he had trekked through earlier. He could see by the moonlight reflecting off the ocean. The view was similar to the other night he had spent staring out the ship porthole.

He rubbed his hand over his face. He knew it was past midnight, but he couldn't sleep. How was he expected to sleep with all his thoughts rebounding off each other? He had crept out of the ship and came here, in the hopes that he could think more clearly in the fresh night air.

He had sent Terror Mails off to the other islands, that could be checked off. Now, the real preparation started.

Then he heard rustling behind him. He tended, thinking maybe Orion could have followed him. Or tracked him. He didn't know. He turned to see a figure with long blonde hair behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief, though it was replaced with a different kind of anxiety.

"Hey." Astrid sat down next to him. "You said we needed to talk?"

"How did you find me?"

"I couldn't sleep either. And your prosthetic is really loud."

He wrapped his arms around his knees, bringing them to his chest. "We do need to talk."

He saw Astrid turn toward him. "I think I know what this is about."

He humorlessly laughed. "What else could it be about?"

They sat in silence for a few moments more, then from Astrid came, "Tell me the truth. Do you want to get married?"

He stretched out his legs and leaned back on his palms. "To tell you the truth, yes. I do want to get married." He didn't look at Astrid, afraid of her reaction. "I love you. And you know that. And we're been holding this discussion back for long enough. I want to marry you."

Astrid released a heavy sigh. "I hope that wasn't a proposal. I- I mean-"

"I know what you mean. It wasn't. I'll do it when I'm down on one knee and have a ring in my hand. But not now. Not while we're trying to fight a war."

He risked taking her hand, and was immensely grateful when she didn't pull back. "I'm not trying to put any pressure on you. It's your decision. But I have to ask." He swallowed. "Do you want to be married?"

He waited for what seemed like two hours but what was probably two seconds, then came a breathless, relieving answer. "Yes. Hiccup, yes, I want to marry you."

He thought he could sense her nerves that were probably as intense as his. "But not while we're fighting this war."

"No. We can't."

"We're talked about this now, though."

Her voice was soft, softer than usual. "That we have." They held hands, not tightly but comfortably, as if they had no need to cling to each other in that moment. They were already each other's.

"You wanna head back?"

"Yeah." He pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her waist. She leaned her head against his chest and they started down the hill.

And as they walked back to the ship, strolling and wandering together in the moonlight, at last they knew. They knew something that they could hold on to, something permanent that they knew would be in their future.

In the midst of their war, their battles, and their fight, they knew they were forever each other's.

* * *

Happy belated birthday Hiccup! Thanks for reading, guys. I always appreciate reviews! ~ScribeOfTheLegends


	9. Chapter 9: An Advantage

After The War Ch9

Before you read this chapter, I have a few announcement. First off, I'm sorry for leaving everyone hanging for two months. The coronavirus situation has gotten out of hand. Thank you for being with me and this story so far. Secondly, after I finish writing After The War, I plan to rewrite it. I'm going to be completely honest, this story is ridden with OOC characters, bad plotlines, and numerous plot holes I haven't filled in yet. So after I finish the original After The War, which is the story you're reading right now, I'll be uploading a separate story called After The War (Rewrite). The rewrite will have the roughly the same plot, but the scenes will be very different and deviate from the original a lot. And while I'm writing the rewrite, I'll also be uploading a bunch of one-shots I've got planned. So yeah! That's the plan for right now. I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and again, I sincerely apologize for disappearing for two months.

* * *

_Rat-tat-tat-tat._

He burrowed his head deeper into the pillow.

_Rat-tat-tat-tat._

He clamped a hand over his exposed ear.

_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-_

Hiccup groaned, lifting his head from the pillow. "Fine!" He mumbled. "Hold on!"

He dragged himself out of his bed, sleepily stumbling to the small porthole window across the room. The porthole was really a choppily carved out circle in the side of the boat (high enough to prevent water from spilling in) with a flap made of fabric stretched over it. He fumbled with the small wooden latch on the small fabric flap to lift the flap away from the porthole, then stepped back as Terror gleefully ricocheted around the room.

He turned back to the window to latch it closed, wincing when the faint sunlight blinded him. The pale sun was just beginning to peek over the reddening horizon, shy about beginning the new day.

Behind him, he heard someone's blankets stir, then heard a voice sleepily mutter, "Hey, no, lemme sleep..." Snotlout was slumped over in his bed, waving an erratic arm in the air to shoo away the Terror which was now circling around his head like a purple-green halo.

The dragon decided to terrorize him a moment more, then abandoned the pursuit and swept back to Hiccup.

Stifling a yawn threatening to come out, he held an arm out to the Terror. "Hey, you got a message for me?" He quietly whispered to the dragon as it swept onto his arm and clutched it's claws tightly on it's perch.

A small roll of parchment was tied onto the Terror's leg by a thin piece of twine. Hiccup quickly unknotted it and opened the scroll.

It was from the Berserkers. Heather had agreed to aid them in battling Orion, though without dragons it would be a while before they could reach the new island of the Defenders of the Wing. At best, they would make it in a day.

He breathed a sigh of relief. With help from the Berserkers, he could expect things to go much better. He stuffed the scroll in one of his many pockets adorning his outfit, then returned his attention to the Terror.

It inquisitively stared at him with green eyes too big for it's head, it's long claws still holding an iron grip on his forearm. He scratched it behind the large, out-of-proportion head, smiling when it purred and leaned against his hand for more.

He unlatched the porthole flap again and moved his arm closer to the open window. "Hey, you're gonna have to go to the island for rest, food, and water. I can't exactly get you some right now."

The Terror chirped in response, nuzzled against his hand once more, then released it's grip on his arm and swiftly flew out the window. He watched it go, a small silhouette against the sun, which had begun to glare as it emerged from the glassy sea.

After shutting the window, he crawled back on top of his bed. The Terror and the message it had brought had effectively woken him up, so he just sat and thought.

He remembered that he had sent the letters to the Berserkers and Wingmaidens after the meeting the day before. While he had expected the Berserkers to respond first because they were closer to this island, he was worried about the Wingmaidens. He dearly hoped their expedition into the Hidden World had proved successful, but a successful mission would mean the Razorwhips would soon be relocated. The Wingmaidens were used to fighting with dragons on their back. It would be significantly harder for them to adjust to fighting on the ground.

He reached into his pocket to consult the letter again. If they arrived tomorrow, they could hopefully begin training their forces together. He assumed that the Berserkers and Defenders wouldn't have too hard of a time learning to work together, though the Berserker's crazy antics might cause some disharmony between the two tribes.

He looked back at his wooden bed and briefly contemplated going back to sleep, but decided against it. He shook out his blankets and smoothed his hair into some form of neatness.

He glanced over at the sleeping figures of Eret, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut. All were still asleep, snoring with arms stretched out and bodies in awkward positions. Hiccup tiptoed to the door and quietly closed it behind him.

When he emerged onto the deck, he could see the sun was proudly beaming down on the island. In the distance, some of Defenders of the Wing were up and going about their business.

He walked down the gangplank and continued on his way to the village. He wasn't even sure what he would do once he was at the village, but he resolved to cross that bridge when he came to it. He'd find something or other to occupy him. He would just begin the day by leisurely listening to his impulses.

He was trudging through the long, tall, brutally sharp grasses of the field in between the dock and the village when he heard a familiar voice call his name. "Hiccup!"

He looked up to see a figure who resembled Throk coming towards him from the village. "Throk?" He called in return. Hiccup sped up and met him where the grassy field ended.

Throk dipped his head in greeting. "Have you received a reply from the Berserkers yet?"

He nodded and tugged the scroll out of his pocket. "I got it just a few minutes ago." He handed it to Throk. "They'll be here in about a day."

"Good. Mala also received one. And you've not heard back from the Wingmaidens?"

"Not yet, but they are farther away."

"Yes, yes they are." He looked distracted. "Hiccup Haddock, Mala would like to arrange a training session between our soldiers and your fighters later today. We thought we could introduce our fighting styles to each other's tribes."

Hiccup mulled over the thought a moment. "That sounds great. And we could plan a battle strategy then, too."

"Then I shall teach our ways to your Berkians, and you shall teach yours to us. We may also-"

Hiccup interrupted him. "Oh, Throk, I actually don't think it's best if I show you our style of fighting. Astrid is actually much better at fighting in the Viking way than I am, and she's been training all her life for battles like these."

Throk was beginning to reply when he spotted Mala walking towards them from the village. He stepped back as she joined them and briskly addressed Hiccup. "Hiccup Haddock, good morning. I hope Throk has told you of the need for a battle plan?"

"He just told me. So what do you guys think the strategy could be?"

Mala exchanged looks with Throk. "There are now ships on constant guard along the entire coast of the Edge. There are always two or more ships around critical entry points. We would need to get through them before we can get to the island. Even then, you know much better than I do that we would have a clear disadvantage fighting them on land. They are higher up, better protected, and our backs would be very close to the edge of the island."

"So you're saying we're going to fight from ships?"

"That's correct. And we will aim to weaken their forces as best as we can until either Orion surrenders or we force her to her surrender."

Hiccup's mouth set in a grim line. "Her forces are powerful. It would take an extreme effort to overpower her in any way, let alone do enough damage that she surrenders."

Throk gripped his axe in one hand. "That is the main problem. Our strategy needs to include a distinct advantage, which we currently do not have."

"I'll keep thinking about it." Hiccup responded. "I have a knack for finding my way out of situations like these. But jokes aside, you can count on me to find a way to defeat her."

* * *

"Soldiers!" At the sound of Throk's voice, Astrid noticed the group of Defenders snapping to attention. They shot up from sitting on the ground and leaning against trees to stand uniform straight, their attention firmly fixated on Throk. This was an obviously well practiced and rehearsed formation, and not a toe was stepped out of line.

Astrid began to wonder just how disciplined the Defender's soldiers were, how often they trained, and how strictly they enforced rules. She had been observing the Defender's wary postures and leery glances since they had all gathered together. Then she compared the Defenders to the Hooligans, and winced. Maybe, she thought, Berk's fighters needed to be more disciplined. Hiccup and Valka were standing straight and with attentive eyes, but Tuffnut and Ruffnut were slouched on the ground, watching the soldiers with amused grins.

For the training session with the Defenders, Astrid had been volunteered by Hiccup to represent the 'Viking' way of fighting. With a brief discussion between her, Mala, Throk, Hiccup, and Dagur, it had been decided that she, Throk, and Dagur would lead the training session. Astrid would represent Berk, Throk would represent the Defenders of the Wing, and Dagur would represent the Berserkers until the Berserkers actually arrived.

Now, Astrid, Throk, and Dagur stood in a wide dirt clearing in front of all the fighters and soldiers who had enlisted to battle Orion. Throk surveyered his soldiers with satisfaction and continued. "We are here to prepare for the battle against our foe, Orion. If we are to fight effectively, we must learn to fight together. The Berserkers will also be aiding us, although for now we are only with our allies, the Berkians. To start, Defenders, I want aerobic warm-ups. Ten minutes."

The group of Defenders immediately spread out and began doing jumping jacks and various stretches.

Throk beckoned for Dagur and Astrid to come closer. "As they are getting ready, I will inform you on the strategy I have created to prepare them for fighting."

"Strategy?" Dagur scoffed. "Why can't we just charge?"

Throk sighed, and Astrid realized he had probably been dealing with Dagur's Berserker methods ever since he became King. She hated to think of how badly the two must have clashed. "If we do not have a plan, Orion will easily overtake us. She demonstrated this last time. Furthermore, we will not be able to charge, as we will not be on land."

Astrid interjected, "We're fighting from the sea?"

Throk nodded. "There are now ships on constant guard around the island. We must take them out first to attack the island. And as you used to live on the Edge, you know as well as I do how much space there is to fight on the Edge's cliffs. Fighting from land is far too dangerous. So we shall attack from boats next to some of the lower cliffs and the docks."

"Then if we're coming from the sea..." Astrid thought aloud. "We'll need to practice using long distance weapons, swimming, and take inventory of ships and weapons."

Throk nodded in approval. "We will be able to practice swimming later, and I shall check on the inventory as well. As for long-distance weapons, that would include axes, throwing knives and daggers, and bow and arrows."

Astrid had a thought. "Maybe our first priority should be archery. With axes and knives, we have a disadvantage. If we throw them, not only do we lose it, we give it to the enemy."

"You speak wisely. We shall begin training now." He turned back to the fighters. "Attention!"

The Defenders stopped their warm-ups and breathlessly faced back towards Throk. "Our current battle plan is to attack from the sea. We will practice using long-distance weaponry and swimming. Those of you who currently have a bow and arrows may spread out to practice. If you do not have a bow and arrows, practice with axes or knives until you can obtain a bow and a quiver. As always, ensure you are far away from any others, and for now, your only targets will be trees." He quickly glanced back towards Astrid and Dagur and lowered his voice. "You may inform your fighters and begin training them. We'll exchange practices and demonstrate after we have grown comfortable?"

Astrid responded, "Sounds good." She and Dagur headed back towards their group.

She could hear Dagur faintly snorting. " Need a plan to survive! Oh, no, charging is illegal now!" He was waving his arms in exasperation.

Once back with their group, Astrid briefly explained the plan. "We'll be attacking the Edge by sea. The whole time, we'll be on boats, so we're going to be practicing using long-distance weapons, and brush up on your swimming skills."

She divided them into groups based on their skill level. Only a few of them had come prepared and had a bow and arrows on them, so for the rest she prioritized throwing axes. Snotlout, she had to admit, wasn't too bad with an axe. Eret definitely wasn't too shabby either. She set all of them targets, either the wide trunk of a tree, or a branch waving in the slight wind for more of a challenge.

She took a quick glance over at the Defenders. Biting her lip, she noticed that they weren't as familiar with long-distance weapons. It was barely noticeable, but Astrid had a good eye and could see they were better suited for short-distance weapons, such as the sword or dagger.

Still, even with their slight disadvantage, they excelled at throwing axes and knives. She thought the remarkable thing was that they were all at the same level. They must have all been trained together, and at the same pace.

She noticed Throk moving among his soldiers, giving out corrections and helping some throw straighter. She turned her attention back to her fighters and resolved to do the same.

In all honesty, she thought, Tuff and Ruff weren't bad. They had both borrowed axes from the Defenders, and most of their throws were close to the middle of the target, if not on it. All of their throws stuck on the target. She corrected Tuffnut's posture, then watched Ruffnut and noticed a slight error in her grip. She corrected that, too, and moved on.

She had barely helped Eret, he was fine. Fishlegs had been one of the lucky few to borrow a bow and arrows from the Defenders. She was thankful the Defenders were so well stocked.

Fishlegs would be fine. His center of balance would mean he was better suited for archery than throwing axes anyway. Then she got to Hiccup.

"Hiccup?" She shook his shoudler. He was staring off into the forest.

"Oh, sorry. Lost in thought."

"I can tell. Can I see your axe throw?"

Hiccup sighed and ignored her question. "Astrid, you know how our current battle plan is to just attack the Edge until she surrenders? There are so many problems with that. Orion is insanely powerful. It's going to take a lot to overpower her."

"And?"

"And Mala and Throk need me to find a distinct advantage over her. And I just can't really focus right now."

"Hiccup." She made him look at her. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to do everything by yourself? I'll help you come up with something after training, I promise. We're a team and we work better together."

He smiled at her, his vibrant green eyes lighting up. "How do you manage to make everything better?"

She almost blushed. "It's a gift. So, your axe throw?"

* * *

"And then, I hit him on the head with my mace!"

The Defenders roared in laughter. The entirety of their attention was focused on Tuffnut as he enacted his dramatic retelling of the whole twintuition/Macey/Shell Fire incident. He was standing on top of a meal table, erratically acting out the scenes.

Fishlegs watched him in amusement. "Is anyone going to remind him that in the middle of all this Macey happened to be broken?"

Snotlout snorted. "Or the fact that he did not fight off a hundred dragon hunters?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Tuffnut. "Or that we were the ones who helped rescue him and Ruffnut?"

Astrid gestured towards Ruffnut. "Ruffnut's eating it up, too." Ruffnut was playing the role of the hunters, with both twins acting up for the audience.

The Defenders were grouped around the twins's table, laughing their heads off at the re-enactment. Astrid guessed they didn't get entertainment opportunities like this often.

The training session went fairly well. When she went over to see how the Defenders were doing, she discovered they didn't need much help at all, save for a few who had grown rather rusty with long-distance. The ones who were practicing archery were skilled, and Astrid even had the chance to show Throk and the rest of the Defenders her axe-throwing skills. She made five bullseyes in a row.

Afterwards, they rested appropriately before eating lunch, careful not to eat too soon. Lunch consisted of wild vegetables and fish some of the villagers had supplied.

Hiccup was still rather perplexed as to how to find an advantage over Orion, but he had agreed to thoroughly talk it over with Astrid later. She sat next to him on the bench while they ate lunch, and Hiccup's hand crept up to hold hers under the table.

Eret was staring at the twins. "I honestly hope they're not telling the truth. A random chicken just made it's way into the story."

Snotlout snorted. "That's pretty normal for them."

Astrid was just finishing eating when she noticed a blur in the sky. She looked closer, and the blur turned into a small dragon that was heading for Hiccup.

She nudged him. "I think that Terror's for you."

He looked up just in time for the Terror to skid to a stop on the table. It held out it's leg to Hiccup, and after he removed the small scroll from it, began to snap up pieces of fish from their plates.

Snotlout waved the Terror away, pulling his plate back possessively toward him. The Terror then hopped towards Valka's plate, and she gave him a fish and rubbed his back. Snotlout resumed eating, though he looked a little sheepish.

"What does it say?" Astrid leaned over Hiccup's shoulder.

"It's from the Wingmaidens." Hiccup let out a sigh of relief. "In the Hidden World they found a nest full of Razorwhips, and a breeding ground far from most of the other species and males that was safe for the babies."

Fishlegs looked up eagerly from his plate. "They separated themselves from the males and other species on their instinct? Oh, that's so cool! It's amazing that even in the Hidden World there's a place for them."

"They're coming with as many as they can spare. Atali wrote that they'd like to defeat Orion, too." Hiccup continued reading. "Well, that makes sense. Thy were the ones who told us about Orion in the first place."

Valka asked, "When will they arrive?"

Hiccup handed her the letter so she could see for herself. "They said about a day. Maybe a little longer." He scooped up the last bite of fish from his plate and stood up, tugging Astrid with him. "You're done, right?"

"Yeah, I've finished."

"C'mon, I need to go tell Throk we heard back from the Wingmaidens." He pulled her up by her hand, and she glanced back to say, "See you later, guys."

As they started across the grassy field back toward the village, hand in hand, she distinctly heard Snotlout wolf-whistle. She rolled her eyes, though she probably blushed a little.

They were fighting their way through the tall, prickly grass when Hiccup said, "So, about the advantage we need? What could we do?"

"Well, for starters, we know the island better than they do. I don't think they've had enough time to discover the Night Terrors, or Darkvarg's cave."

"Yeah, but how could we use the hidden places we know about? It wouldn't really help unless we're on the island in the first place."

"True. I'll keep thinking up ideas."

They wandered around the village a bit before they could find Throk. Most of the houses were still in-progress, but they counted two more finished houses since yesterday.

Hiccup thought about the fact that Berk was also in it's rebuilding stage. Dragons being recalled to the Hidden World had triggered so many events. He guessed that he hadn't realized just how much of an impact dragons had had.

He also winced internally thinking of New Berk. He had abandoned New Berk in a time when it was critical for the Chief to be overseeing everything. He resolved to formally apologize to the people of New Berk when he returned. He couldn't afford to keep making mistakes like this. Not when it was mistake after mistake after mistake.

He was shaken out of his depressing reverie when Astrid called out to someone far in front of them, "Mala!"

Mala was standing with Oswald in her arms, quietly conversing with Throk. She looked up at the sound of Astrid's voice, and beckoned then over with a wave of her free hand.

"Did you receive a message back from the Wingmaidens?"

"Yes, actually, we were looking all over for you so we could tell you."

Throk questioned, "You convinced them to release the Razorwhips?"

"It was necessary." He solemnly told them.

Mala shook her head. "Hiccup Haddock, you have a way of changing life as we know it. How did the training session go, Astrid? Throk was just about to tell me about it."

"Really well." Astrid responded. "But we're going to need a lot more time and practice, especially when the Berserkers and Wingmaidens get here. And we might not get that time if Orion decides to attack before us."

"What if we slowed her down?" Hiccup asked. "We can try to significantly weaken her forces, giving us more time."

"And how, exactly, would we weaken her?" Mala studied him, expectantly watching him.

He pondered her question. Perhaps the courses of action he had thought were the only possible options he had could actually be merged together. The battle was one thing. But before the battle actually happened, they could use their extensive knowledge of the Edge to give them to advantage.

"We know the Edge much better than she does. We could try to infiltrate the Edge and ruin their stores of supplies."

Mala nodded absently, her sharp green eyes lost in thought. "It's a start. We'll meet again once the Berserkers arrive and our forces converge. Excuse me, I need to tend to matters in the village." She nodded her farewell and left for the center of the village with Throk authoritatively striding behind her.

Astrid turned back to face Hiccup directly. "Infiltrate the Edge? How would we manage to do that?"

An idea struck him. "What if we tried to get on the Edge at night?"

"They might be patrolling at night." Astrid pointed out.

"I'll ask Throk later. But I guess it's an idea."

They meandered around the village in comfortable silence as Hiccup turned their predicament over and over in his mind. He blankly stared past the smelly yaks being led to their pen, a mother running after her child, and a group of teenagers in black clothing rambunctiously laughing and joking. He registered them with a slight pang._ I used to be like that._

He caught Astrid's eye as she stared at the teens, similar to what he had been doing. "We all grew up."

He clasped her hand. "Yeah."

They stood in silent remembrance of their teenage days for a second more before continuing on their thought-filled stroll.

They had almost looped around the village when Hiccup asked her, out of the blue, "What if... a few of us could get onto the Edge unnoticed, and then slow Orion down?"

Astrid stopped walking to lean against a nearby tree and think. "Are you saying that if few of us get onto the Edge, and... we use our knowledge to hide somewhere in the Edge, we... could slow her down? Take out some soldiers, ruin some supplies? That kind of slowing her down?"

He leaned against the tree and answered, "It's our best option. We somehow get onto the Edge, and slow her down."

"Then after that what would we do? We need a stronger advantage. Maybe... one that applies directly to us? Something that's helped us before?"

He groaned. "We do need a better advantage." He racked his brain. "What's one advantage we've always had, and could always depend on?"

He sank against the tree, his back moving down the tree to rest against it's trunk as he sat on the ground and rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

What advantage did they always have? What was the special thing about Hiccup and the gang that had led them to win their past battles and wars?

He mentally re-visited past fights, against Alvin, Dagur, Viggo, Ryker, and even the fights of the dragon raids from just this year. What could the dragon riders do that others couldn't?

And all at once, the answer came to him.

He jerked up straight, staring wide-eyed. Astrid looked down at the sharp movement. "What? What is it?"

He pushed himself off the tree. "I found our advantage."

Astrid faced him, suddenly as wide-eyed as he was. "What is it?"

He grinned. "We can train dragons."

* * *

Thank you for bearing with me through all this. Chapter ten is next! I can't believe we're on double digits. Thanks for reading! ~ScribeOfTheLegends


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